Album Review: The Cocktail Slippers - "Shout It Out Loud!"

 

Hailing from Norway, the Cocktail Slippers have cropped up a couple of times in our Singles Bar in recent months with their chirpy power-pop singles and I was looking forward to hearing this debut full length from them.

The obvious template here is the Go-Go's and I guarantee you won't be able to listen to the opening title track here without Belinda Carlisle and co's We Got The Beat going through your head. That's not a bad thing though - a bit of the stardust has definitely rubbed off here and it makes for a fun listen.

Which, to be honest, sums up the album pretty well - this is power-pop in its most sugar-sweet form - Be The One and Like A Song Stuck In My Head both sound like Voice of the Beehive with a newly acquired Ronettes fixation while Excuse Me and former single City On Fire are the Primitives with better production and added pop sensibilities. Indeed, if you remember those days of 1988-89 or so when the likes of Transvision Vamp and the Darling Buds were at their commercial peak then this may well bring back a few memories.

It's not the be all and end all of the Cocktail Slippers' sound - Say My Name is a full on Suzi Quatro/Sweet style glam rocker and the mournful You & I and I'll Be Here For You add a spot of shade to the light to break the tempo up where needed. Even better is Night Train which owes a sly nod in its structure to the G'n'R number of the same name but gives it an early '80s power pop makeover a la the Romantics or the Knack and works much better than it really has any right to. The cover of Deep Purple's Hush which finishes this one off is well executed as well and keeps the original spirit of the song intact while stamping the group's mark on it.

Shout It Out Loud definitely exceeded my expectations - to be truthful, I was anticipating an album of fun and frothy but somewhat lightweight power-pop (which, let's be honest, is the trap quite a few newer bands of this genre have fallen into in recent years) but this is an album with great tunes and hooks and more of a punch than you'd maybe think. A genuinely good effort which is well deserving of your attention, whether you're a power-pop aficionado or not. 

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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