Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
More evidence that there is actually a garage rock factory in Sweden--the U.S. debut from this perfectly formed, retro-rock quintet bustles with handclaps, keyboard-driven pop melodies and a potent new-wave punch. There's a drop-dead gorgeous blonde like the Ravonettes and a shaggy-haired front man like the Hives (plus someone that inexplicably looks like Moby) but Shout Out Louds otherwise offer up their own variation of the genre using crisp go-go rhythms on "Hurry Up Let's Go" and a woozy southern drawl on the bittersweet "Please Please Please." Fans ofthe Wannadieswill certainly not want to look the other way.--Aidin Vaziri