By: Ross Edwards
Rating: 8/11

No one would deny that Quiet Loudly sound good. They do, it’s obvious from the raw twang of the guitar on the first track of “Soulgazer,” and the tidal wave of retro, psych-indie rock that follows. Max Goransson’s bright guitar and warm voice combine effortlessly to make “Over the Balcony” one of their best. The slightly bluesy “Lift This Mountain” follows, with a guest organist, and progresses into an epic slow jam freak-out with plenty of shredding and reverb. But despite the immediate sonic appeal, the proceedings get a bit stale — the guitars seem relentlessly spaced-out and sometimes overdone, as on the instrumental “We Look Alike.”

Quiet Loudly’s Goransson, Sal Garro, and Anthony Aquillino mix it up with the organ and horn-laden “Church of Mud,” a very catchy, repetitious tune, which explodes into a sick unison riff toward the end. Guest musicians such as Danny Mekonnen and Bryan Murphy on saxes and trumpet are an ingenious addition — they bring out a groovier side of “You Never Call,” and a soulful side of “I’ve Been a Miner for a Heart of Space.” The mostly instrumental “Good Hearts” comes across with the shoddy and effective feel of an early Modest Mouse song, and a weirdly structured series of riffs makes way for a simple melancholy vocal melody. “I Could Sleep for Days” revisits the placid wash of “Over the Balcony,” and “I Gave Her the Ocean” closes the album with eleven minutes of guitar, vocal, and harmonica unfiltered space-jamming.

A solid album, best not listened to all at one time, but in segments of one or two songs to get a dose of their addictive sound.