Shout Out Louds - Biography
Shout Out Louds are an indie pop rock band from Stockholm, Sweden. Originally called Luca Brasi, the quintet of long-time friends changed the name of the band upon finding that another group already shared that name. Shout Out Louds consists of Adam Olenius on vocals and guitar; Ted Malmros on bass, percussion, and backing vocals; Carl von Arbin on guitar and backing vocals; Eric Edman on drums; and Bebban Stenborg on keyboards, accordion, glockenspiel, moog, and backing vocals.
Shout Out Louds made their recording debut throughout Scandinavia with the release of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Bud Fox) on October 1, 2003. The international version of the band’s debut was released two years later and is described on their website as “A collection of songs from all our Scandinavian releases. Everything from plastic to vinyl.” Singles from the album include “Shut Your Eyes,” “The Comeback,” and “Please Please Please.” Both the Scandinavian and international versions of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff were released on Bud Fox Recordings and produced by Ronald Bood.
Several EP releases made their way out of the studio before Shout Out Louds took a second full-length release to task. 100° EP was released in 2003 and 2004 brought about both Oh, Sweetheart EP and Very Loud EP. In 2006, Combines (Capitol), which includes remixes and one new song, was made available.
Shout Out Louds’ second full-length album, Our Ill Wills (Merge), made several different release dates around the globe during 2007. Production was undertaken by Bjorn Yttling of the infectious Swedish indie folk/pop sensation Peter Bjorn and John — a band best known for the 2006 single “Young Folks,” which collectively stuck in the heads of music lovers the world over that year. Several labels made the worldwide releases of Our Ill Wills possible, including Bud Fox Recordings, Haldern Pop Recordings, Merge Records, and Dew Process. Singles from the album include “Tonight I Have to Leave It” and “Impossible.” The album artwork is a striking display of the words “Shout Out Louds” spelled out in maritime signal flags. The tone of the album is significantly more melancholy than Howl Howl Gaff Gaff and there is more room for Bebban Stenborg’s vocals, especially on the fully vocal “Blue Headlights.” Bonus tracks are available on two different versions of Our Ill Wills; the Swedish limited digipack edition features “Don’t Get Yourself Involved” and the vinyl LP version has a new track entitled “Bicycle.”
Shout Out Louds have enjoyed significant success on American teen television programs. “Please Please Please” from Howl Howl Gaff Gaff was featured on the CW network teen drama One Tree Hill and appears on the One Tree Hill — Volume II: Friends with Benefit compilation, the proceeds from which went to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The group made yet another foray into teen drama soundtracks with the use of “Wish I Was Dead” on the FOX network show The OC.
In 2008, the romantic comedy flick What Happens In Vegas featuring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz called upon Shout Out Louds for the addition of “Tonight I Have To Leave It” to the soundtrack. The same year, Shout Out Louds contributed “Very Loud” to the soundtrack for Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings.
Shout Out Louds have toured extensively, playing alongside other indie rock and pop bands of note such as Kings of Leon, The Dears, The Strokes, Secret Machines, The Sun, The Essex Green, Johnossi, Nico Vega, The Rosebuds, and The Magic Numbers. Live shows have also given them the opportunity to collaborate on-stage with other bands. At Coachella in 2007, Stenborg, showing more vocal confidence after the release of Our Ill Wills, joined Peter Bjorn and John for a live version of their hit song “Young Folks.” The same year at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, James Fearnley and Spider Stacy of Celtic punk band the Pogues joined Shout Out Louds to play “Streams of Whiskey,” a Pogues song that they had previously covered. In 2008, Fearnley would join them once again at Coachella to play “Streams of Whiskey.”
Bassist Ted Malmros is also known for his work as a music video director, most notably for the work he did on the Peter Bjorn and John video for “Young Folks.” For this video, Malmros won a Grammis, which is essentially the Swedish equivalent of the American Grammy Award. Malmros has worked with his brother to direct all of the Shout Out Louds’ videos to date and the two have worked together extensively on videos for other Swedish bands.
