Shout Out Louds come across as lovely people. Singer Adam Olenius’s many ‘thank yous’ throughout the gig appear genuine and he even apologised for stepping on a fan’s bag during a brief excursion off the stage.

His politeness is mirrored in his songs - rarely do proceedings get beyond the genteel. Olenius looks like a young David Byrne but sounds a lot like Robert Smith, and the band are evidently fans of The Cure’s cheerful moments. Each of their songs sounds a little like ‘Friday I’m In Love’ or, for those darker moments, ‘Close To Me’. Opener ‘Comeback’ is nice enough and so is ‘Time Left For Love’ and current single ‘Impossible’.

After this, though, it’s 15-20 minutes of polite pop with few highlights until their 2004 single ‘Very Loud’, during which the band look like they are beginning to kick into action properly.

The gig’s high point, final song ‘Hard Rain’, stands out as less twee than the rest. Its atmospheric keyboard riff, almost distorted guitar, whispered vocals, and spoken passage from eye-candy keyboardist Bebban Stenborg was a much appreciated breath of murky air amidst the fresh and clean pop of the last forty minutes.

Jake Bickerton
Photo: Rachel Lipsitz