It has been a long, three-year wait for the newest album from the Swedish indie rock band, Shout Out Louds. The five Stockholm natives, who have been playing together for nine years, recently released Work, a collaboration with producer Phil Ek, who established the careers of Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, the Shins and Fleet Foxes.

Work is a throwback to the ’80s, when The Smiths and The Cure reigned supreme. It is a collaboration of vocals and guitar with a few random instruments, like the glockenspiel and moog, in the mix to mark their distinctive style.

Even though Work is the third album from Shout Out Louds, it was a risky venture: Work is a symbol of the band’s attempt to finally emerge from the safety of commissioned songs for soundtracks for The O.C., One Tree Hill and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The attempt, however, was a flop.

Shout Out Louds once again fail to deliver both the originality and personality of a more thoughtful band or the high-strung energy of other European indie bands, like the Kaiser Chiefs or Franz Ferdinand. In contrast to what leader singer Adam Olenius believes when he says, “I never felt so alive since 1999,” there is nothing truly “alive” about Work’s sound. 

To give the band some credit there are a few pleasing elements of the band’s newest album. For one, Olenius has learned to tone down the depressing, whiny tone that plagued the vocal in their last album, Our Ill Wills. While the album tends to blend together, one song bleeding into the next, there are a few songs that are strong enough to stand out alone. 

Two songs, “The Candle Burned Out,” an artful mix of vocals and acoustic sound, and “1999,” a lively melody that brilliantly represents European indie music, are the two saving graces of the album. Shout Out Louds’ newest album is a sharp contrast to their song, “Show Me Something New,” as they are unsuccessful in bringing anything new and creative to the table.

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Shout Out Louds — "The Candle Burned Out"