Stockholm’s Shout Out Louds are back with Work, the follow up to 2007’s Our Ill Wills. The first thing that strikes on listening to their latest is that in the three years since the release of its predecessor the band have matured. The high energy, jangly guitar pop that characterised large parts of the band's first two albums has this time been replaced with a more measured and tempered edge. The Shout Out Louds signature sound is still here -- Adam Olenius' characteristic vocal, the lackadaisical female harmonies, the hooky guitars and synths -- but this time everything is treated with a slick production. This is no surprise when you read that, for this record, the band have been working with Phil Ek, whose recent portfolio includes Fleet Foxes’ debut, Band of Horses' Cease to Begin and The Shins’ Wincing the Night Away.Opening with ‘1999’, Work hits the ground running. It’s all driving bass lines, stabbing piano chords and catchy guitar riffs. ‘Fall Hard’ follows suit with a shimmering guitar line and beds of warm, throwback synths before the whole thing launches into a quietly confident chorus of call and answer. This is a big single.After these two stone-cold classics the album settles into a more laid back affair which, if used to the band’s usual M.O. of upbeat indie-pop, could upset fans of old. ‘Play The Game’ slowly builds out of almost whispered vocals and melancholy strings before everything finally lifts for the final minute. ‘Candle Burned Out’ shimmers on rolling drums and a sparse, palm-muted guitar line before, again, we’re treated to a big finish. Phil Ek’s trademark production has helped the band evolve into something which is more akin with the “dream-pop” of Beach House or jj.That said, the likes of ‘Throwing Stones’, ‘Walls’ and ‘Show Me Something New’ still tick the boxes when it comes to upbeat, dance-floor fillers. Their inclusion on the album not only serves to add variety but also gives the record a sound of a band in transition; we’re treated to both the Shout Out Louds of old and new in almost equal measures.While the lack of immediacy we’ve come to expect from Shout Out Louds may worry some, Work is a record where the band sounds at their most comfortable. After multiple listens, the instantly gratifying singles are over-shadowed by their more mature, more considered company. If 2009 was the year that the expertly crafted guitar/synth pop of Phoenix broke to the masses the surely 2010 deserves to be Shout Out Loud's year.