PHOTOS BY DARYL DARKO

With rousing percussion, sincere vocals, and a keyboard-driven new wave vibe the Shout Out Louds persuaded a small trendy crowd to bob along as they opened the first show of their North American tour Tuesday night (Oct. 9) at the Independent. Kicking off with an upbeat version of "Time Left For Love," punctuated with maracas and tambourine, the stylish Swedish quintet made the whole crowd smile when they moved into "The Comeback," from 2005's Howl Howl Gaff Gaff. Beneath a row of colorful geometric flags, SOLs also introduced a series of songs from their latest LP Our Ill Wills, issuing a hearty pounding of the keyboard on "Impossible" and turning up the percussion to bridge into the crowd-pleasing "South America."

SOLs dedicated "Oh, Sweetheart" to opening band Johnossi, the Swedish duo (comprised of John and Ossi) who roused the audience with a bluesy electric rendition of "Santa Monica Bay" from their brand spanking new self-titled debut album. If the crowd was already titillated, it was by L.A. openers Nico Vega, whose Karen O-inspired frontwoman Aja Volkman's crazy vocal prowess burst through her pants-less brown unitard. SOLs called it a night with a "Hard Rain" that would make the Cure proud, and summoned some accordion assistance, plus the ever-distinctive Franz Ferdinand-like punchy riffs on "Very Loud." Shout Out Louds -- upbeat and outta sight. 

We asked: The new Shout Out Louds album, Our Ill Wills, makes numerous references to secrets -- what's the biggest secret you've ever had to keep?

Name: Ross Harris
Age: 23
Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA
Occupation: Sound engineer
"Juicy gossip between friends."

Name: Kate Shaw
Age: 24
Hometown: Oakland, CA
Occupation: Social worker
"I wet the bed in fourth grade and told my friend it was my cat."

Name: Celina Plaza
Age: 24
Hometown: Sioux City, IA
Occupation: Account executive
"My fake ID was found by the cops and I told my parents it was a gag gift. They believed me."

Name: Lucas Cromwell
Age: 23
Hometown: Stockton, CA
Occupation: Pastry chef
"It was about a roommate and a girl he was with, and he didn't want people to know about the girl."

Name: Kate Mitchell
Age: 21
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
Occupation: Student
"I haven't told my family that I'm not going to be home for Christmas this year. I'm going to Sweden instead."

Name: Matthew Waterbury
Age: 22
Hometown: Victorville, CA
Occupation: TankFarm Clothing
"My mom still thinks I'm a virgin."

Shout Out Louds / Photo by Daryl Darko

Shout Out Louds vocalist Adam Olenius / Photo by Daryl Darko

Shout Out Louds chanteuse Bebban Stenborg / Photo by Daryl Darko

Olenius with drummer Eric Edman and vocalist Bebban Stenborg / Photo by Daryl Darko

Nico Vega frontwoman Aja Volkman / Photo by Daryl Darko

Nico Vega / Photo by Daryl Darko

Johnossi / Photo by Daryl Darko