Work (album)

Work
Studio album by Shout Out Louds
Released	February 23, 2010
Recorded	2009
Genre	Indie pop Indie rock
Label	Merge Records (USA) Vertigo Records (Europe)
Producer	Phil Ek
Shout Out Louds chronology
Our Ill Wills (2007) Work (2010)

Work is a 2010 album by Swedish indie rock band Shout Out Louds. It was released in the United States and Canada on February 23, 2010, in Scandinavia on February 24, 2010, and in Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and Austria on February 26, 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.

Walls is the band's third full-length release. It was produced by Phil Ek, the producer of American folk rock band 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".^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Slant	[3]
The A.V. Club	(B+)[4]
Popdose	(very favorable)[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
Prefix	[7]
PopMatters	[8]
Pitchfork Media	(5.4/10)[9]

Upon its release, Work received mixed reviews, with some commentators criticizing it as "bland" and "risk-averse"^[10] and others praising it for having "a distinct sound and identity"^[11] and "great energy".^[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
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

Chart positions

Chart (2010)	Peak
The Billboard 200	200
Swedish Albums Chart[13]	21

References

1. "Merge Records Store". Mergerecords.com. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
2. Tim Sendra (2010-02-23). "Work - Shout Out Louds | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
3. "Slant review".
4. "The A.V. Club review".
5. "Popdose review".
6. "Rolling Stone review".
7. "Prefix review".
8. "PopMatters review".
9. "Pitchfork review".
10. "Shout Out Louds: Work | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 2010-02-25. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
11. Franco, Michael. "Shout Out Louds: Work". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
12. "CD Review: Shout Out Louds, "Work"". Popdose. 2010-02-22. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
13. "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved 2013-09-03.