Watching Honheehonhee’s semi-NSFW video for “We Only Go” is a surefire way to make a 20-something feel old. It’s undergrad as you wish you remembered it: Half-naked Frisbee-tossing in snowstorms? Yep. Asymmetrical haircuts paired with Christmas sweaters? In abundance. Hard bodies in American Apparel undergarments? Dov Charney could’ve financed the vid. The whole thing makes you feel like an overweight, bitter pederast.
Add that the band is named for the sound squirrels make en Francais (twee onomatopoeia! LULZ!), and the seething hatred could make any rational person fantasize about curb-stomping Los Campesinos. That is, until you realize that Shouts is more fun than hearing K-Ci and JoJo at ’90s night. A sugar-shocked, lightning-paced collection of buzzy Korgs, overblown octave chords and cheery glockenspiel, Shouts spikes the band’s exuberance with plenty of memorable moments. Here, a crackling, spaced-out crescendo (“To the Silo”). There, Funeral’s yelping histrionics (“Jumpstart My Heart”) and falsetto backups (“Rooftop Archipelagos”). Throw dashes of Thee Oh Sees’ eccentro-whooping (“A is for Animal”) and jittery scream-a-longs (“We Never Sleep”), and Shouts doesn’t only feel youthful, it’s a reminder that fun and inventiveness needn’t be mutually exclusive. So, like, wipe the sand out of your crows’ feet. Album is good.
Post the first comment: (Login or Register)