They don’t know it, but the Shout Out Louds, ousted after Capitol’s merger with Virgin, have major expectations from me for their second full-length, Our Ill Wills, due out Sept. 11 on Merge.

See, I made mix CDs as favors for friends who came out a couple years ago to celebrate my birthday. The Comeback, off Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, was song No. 1 on said mix, and I got nothing but compliments for it, as if I somehow had anything to do with writing the song.

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to including Shout Out Louds on the next mix. So far, the lead single, Tonight I Have to Leave It, is a fine candidate. (I picked up the five-song EP with the single, two remixes and two B-sides at eMusic.) It’s maybe not as catchy as The Comeback, at least not right off the bat, but the layered percussion arrangement – is that a xylophone? – is not to be ignored here.

• Shout Out Louds | Tonight I Have to Leave It