Shout Out Louds, Johnossi, Nico Vega

"Tonight I Have to Leave It," the opening track on the Shout Out Louds' latest release, Our Ill Wills, sounds like it could have been a B-side from the Cure's 1985 album The Head on the Door. The buoyant tune bears a striking resemblance to Robert Smith and company's "In Between Days," thanks to the swift strumming of the acoustic guitars and the vocals of Adam Olenus, who sounds so much like Smith that even kinfolk would have difficulty distinguishing between the two. While there are numerous other references to Door scattered throughout Wills, the Swedish indie-pop quintet has somehow managed to create a delightful album, despite how obviously derivative it is. Produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and released in October in North America on the Merge imprint, the disc is easily on par with the group's 2005 shimmering Capitol debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff.