Lyricist: Adam Olenius.

Shout Out Louds: Adam (vocals, guitar); Carl (guitar); Bobban (keyboards, background vocals); Ted (bass guitar); Eric (drums).

Personnel: Bebben (keyboards, background vocals); Stellan VonOlenius (drums).

Audio Mixers: Ronald Bood; Björn Yttling; Linus Larsson; Rich Costey.

Illustrator: Fredrik VonBlixen.

Photographer: Malcolm Fallenius.

Shout Out Louds' debut record, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, is a blast of sparkling energy from start to finish and a contender for best out-of-the-blue debut of 2005. Coming from the angle of the pure pop sound of the '60s filtered through the indie pop of the '80s and '90s and the Beach Boys-worshiping chamber pop of the early 2000s, the Swedish quintet has crafted an album loaded with great songs, exciting performances, and an unerring ear for arrangements. In fact, a better combination of arrangement, emotion, and melody is hard to find anywhere in the early 2000s to date. Saturday Looks Good to Me, for sure. The Concretes, perhaps. The real point is that Howl Howl Gaff Gaff is an excellent album. It is made up of tracks released in Scandinavia on various singles and on the band's first album (also confusingly titled Howl Howl Gaff Gaff), and while that cherry picking may account for the strength of the record, who would complain about methods when the end result is so sweet? There just isn't a weak song on the record and to list the best would mean reprinting the entire track list. Let's just say that if the likes of "The Comeback," "Very Loud," and "Hurry Up Let's Go" don't get your teenage pulse racing and heartstring pluckers like "Oh, Sweetheart," "There's Nothing," and "Seagull" don't raise a lump in your throat, you might as well pack it in and turn out the lights because nobody's home. The title of the album might be garbled nonsense, but everything about the record is brilliantly clear and brilliant in the true definition of the word -- that is, glittering, striking, and distinctive. ~ Tim Sendra

Swedish quintet Shout Out Louds mine a fun and familiar style that looks back to the gleaming pop melodies of the 1960s rock while maintaining its allegiance to the indie scene of the 2000s. There is tuneful modern garage a la the Strokes in lead singer's pouty, scratchy vocals and in the band's uptempo rockers ("Very Loud"), languorous, chiming turns reminiscent of acts like Grandaddy (as on the dreamy folk-rock of "A Track and a Train"), and shimmering, moody introspection that recalls bands like Sparklehorse (as on the aptly named "Go Sadness").

Yet Shout Out Louds bring these influences together beautifully in the album's elegant, understated production and--most importantly--the strength of their hook-packed tunes. The sheer, unadulterated catchiness of songs like "Please Please Please" and "Hurry Up Let's Go" is impossible to dismiss, and the tasteful touches of keyboards (which mix in a definite New Wave flavor) only sweetens the pot. The 2005 U.S. release of HOWL HOWL GAFF GAFF is culled from singles and tracks from a full-length album (of the same name) released in Scandinavia. On evidence of the pure pop pleasure they give, Shout Out Louds are sure to find an audience Stateside as well.