Work is the third studio album by Swedish indie rock band Shout Out Louds. It was released in the United States and Canada on 23 February 2010, in Scandinavia on 24 February 2010 and in Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and Austria on 26 February 2010. The album was preceded by 2007's Our Ill Wills. The first single off of Work was "Walls", which was released as a free MP3 download through the band's website. The second single, "Fall Hard", was made available as free streaming audio on the band's MySpace website over a month before the album's release.

Work
Studio album by
Released23 February 2010 (2010-02-23)
RecordedAugust and October 2009[1]
Studio
  • Bear Creek Studio, Seattle, WA
  • • Decibel Studio, Stockholm
  • • Dubious Studio, Stockholm
GenreIndie pop, indie rock
Length41:24
LabelMerge Records (US)
Vertigo Records (Europe)
ProducerPhil Ek
Shout Out Louds chronology
Our Ill Wills
(2007)
Work
(2010)
Optica
(2013)

Work is the band's third full-length release. It was produced by Phil Ek, the producer of Fleet Foxes' eponymous debut album, Band of Horses' Cease to Begin, and The Shins' Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing the Night Away. Merge Records, the label on which the album is being distributed in North America, describes the album as "strip[ping] away the bells and whistles of previous efforts".[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
Slant     [4]
The A.V. Club(B+)[5]
Popdose(very favorable)[6]
Rolling Stone     [7]
Prefix          [8]
PopMatters          [9]
Pitchfork Media(5.4/10)[10]

Upon its release, Work received mixed reviews, with some commentators criticizing it as "bland" and "risk-averse"[11] and others praising it for having "a distinct sound and identity"[12] and "great energy".[13]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."1999"4:41
2."Fall Hard"4:15
3."Play the Game"4:03
4."Walls"3:20
5."Candle Burned Out"5:09
6."Throwing Stones"3:37
7."Four By Four"4:01
8."Paper Moon"4:14
9."Show Me Something New"3:26
10."Too Late, Too Slow"4:35
Total length:41:24

Chart positions

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Chart (2010) Peak
Billboard 200 200
Swedish Albums Chart[14] 21

References

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  1. ^ a b "Work by Shout Out Louds". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Merge Records Store". Mergerecords.com. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  3. ^ Tim Sendra (23 February 2010). "Work – Shout Out Louds | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Slant review". Slant Magazine. 18 February 2010.
  5. ^ "The A.V. Club review". The A.V. Club. 23 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Popdose review". 22 February 2010.
  7. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010.
  8. ^ "Prefix review". 3 May 2022.
  9. ^ "PopMatters review".
  10. ^ "Pitchfork review". Pitchfork.
  11. ^ "Shout Out Louds: Work | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  12. ^ Franco, Michael. "Shout Out Louds: Work". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  13. ^ "CD Review: Shout Out Louds, "Work"". Popdose. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  14. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan.se. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2013.