Death Trap

I’ve been trawling the music blogs (in the EMJ sidebar) this morning feeling very disappointed by the lack of new music out this week. The new Horrors album has almost killed my appetite; I could listen to it on repeat for weeks on end and probably be satisfied. But that would be rather silly. Thankfully My Old Kentucky Blog put me on to this, the new album from Canada’s Shout Out Out Out Out. It’s no Primary Colours, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Reintegration Time is the name of the album, which had its official USA release on May 5. The band has gone psychedelic, bringing in many elements of Kraut rock-like repetitive electronic notes, long whispering synths and canny drum beats. You can also hear elements of The Faint dripping into the mix, with the vocals heavily wrapped in vocoder and the guitars spitting out a fuzzy drone. It’s actually a lot better than The Faint’s album Fasciinatiion which was a bit too twisted and complex, Shout Out Out Out Out has chosen a much simpler formula and it works quite beautifully.

There’s the epic industrial sounding ‘Coming Home’, which features a guest appearance by Cadence Weapon; the psychedelic electro pop of ‘Bad Choices’ and the acid soaked, DFA influenced ‘In The End It’s Your Friends’, which brings to minds some of the upbeat electro-punk songs of LCD Soundsystem. ‘How Do I Maintain Pt 2′ is the one track that lets down the psychedelic facade and goes all dance-y, a throw back to the band’s previous album. Well rounded, the album is quite diverse with a real imaginative sense of direction. Its smooth transition between songs contains a subtle message, signaling that the band is really firing at its best.

Reintegration Time is the band’s second album, following 2006’s Not Saying/Just Saying which was nominated for a Canadian Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year. It’s definitely a large leap forward for the band, trading their angular dance-punk for a more rounded psychedelic, electro synth tech sound. An obvious transition and one that works remarkably well.

Shout Out Out Out Out- Bad Choices: MP3

 Shout Out Out Out Out- How Do I Maintain Pt. 2: MP3

 Shout Out Out Out Out- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Canada