Formed in Stockholm by childhood friends Adam Olenius (vocals), Ted Malmros (bass), and Carl von Arbin (guitars), Shout Out Louds found an international audience during the early 2000s with their peppy Swedish pop.

The band spent the following year touring, releasing additional material ("Please Please Please," "Very Loud/Wish I Was Dead," and the Oh, Sweetheart EP), and inking an American deal with Capitol Records.

[1] Despite such growing success, the band's 2007 album "Our Ill Wills" produced by Björn Yttling was a somber, melancholy affair, replete with icy synths and Cure-inspired vocals.

March 2009 found the musicians reconvening in Stockholm to write new material, and by August the band had decamped to Seattle to begin recording with producer Phil Ek.

Hoping to recapture the more relaxed spirit of earlier recordings, they spent time outside the studio composing the songs, with each band member responsible for coming up with their own parts.