Bringing with them a mood of gentle introspection, Sweden's
Shout Out Louds return with their aptly titled fifth effort
Ease My Mind. A warmly layered and self-reflective collection that is easy on the palate, the veteran band intentionally set out to create an album of dreamy escapist pop to act as a balm during a time of global discord and fear. In an era of rallying cries and impassioned artistic statements, the Stockholm quartet instead focus their lens inward to carry on doing what they do best: make appealing, slightly wistful indie pop. After 2010's low-key Phil Ek-produced Work album,
Shout Out Louds opted to produce themselves, successfully stringing together their best attributes to record the excellent and more diverse
Optica in 2013. Tonally,
Ease My Mind falls somewhere in between those releases, with the mellow vibes of the former and the vibrant synth and dream pop textures of the latter. The band's knack for writing hooky guitar pop has remained consistent over the years and they offer a handful of gems here like the sunny "Paola," the hazy "White Suzuki," and the shoegazey "Crying Game." With its lush production and appealing slow groove, the Bebban Stenborg-sung title track is another album high point. At its brightest and densest, like on lead single "Oh Oh,"
Ease My Mind reaches the splendor the
Shout Out Louds have proven themselves capable of. There is a sameness to the tone and tempo of many of the tracks causing much of the album to blend together, but if the whole affair doesn't quite reach the artistic highs of earlier releases, the band certainly make good on their soothing intent. ~ Timothy Monger