Cloud Nothings
Here and Nowhere Else (2014)
Cloud Nothings started life as a one man band - specifically, Dylan Baldi, using GarageBand in his parents' basement to record entire songs by himself. Baldi, who was studying saxophone performance at university, used the power of Myspace (remember that? Me neither) to create a number of fake bands to put out his solo musical creations. One of those, Cloud Nothings, attracted some label attention - enough to warrant the release of an EP, and the beginnings of a musical career for Baldi.
Dropping out of university, and recruiting a band to perform the band's material live, Baldi began recording and releasing studio albums, the first two by himself. Starting with the band's third album, Attack on Memory, the live band joined Baldi in the studio. This release, Here and Nowhere Else, was released just twenty days ago. It sees the group veer away from their earlier melodic lo-fi style and adopt something altogether different.
The Album
This is not melodic indie lo-fi as the band's Wiki page claims their previous works were. This, instead, is raucous, raw, loud and abrasive indie/punk, that casts one's musical memory back to the 70s punk sound of bands like The Stooges and The Ramones (indeed, Baldi himself claimed that at least one of the songs on the album was similar in style to English art punk legends Wire). While Baldi is a competent guitarist and songwriter, and his noisy guitar (complemented well by the buzzing bass of TJ Duke) is partly responsible for fuelling those punk comparisons, it's drummer Jayson Gerycz who is the real star on this record; his thunderous, furiously quick tempo beats are frequently punctuated by maniacally frenzied machine gun fills and rolls, and it's his efforts that underpin the punk aesthetic on the record.
In keeping with said punk aesthetic, the album is short - eight tracks, clocking in at just over thirty minutes - and even that is padded out by two longer tracks at the close. The first six tracks are all in the three minute range, and all of them burn with the kind of furious, carefree energy of those early punk artists. Yet there are enough subtle differences in the compositions to at least make each song interesting to listen to.
Barnstorming opener Now Hear In sets the tone, all abrasive riffs and cymbal-heavy, powerful drumming. Quieter Today adds a slight hook in the chorus to complement the cacophonous indie/punk sound, but it's not until the third track, Psychic Trauma, that the band begin to show an element of nuance. A brooding, slower start suddenly explodes into life, with Gerycz engaging drummer beast mode and signalling the song's thundering ascendancy into full on punk. It's the first time also where producer John Congleton's decision to leave Baldi's vocals lower in the mix, allowing the instrumentation to take prominence, really stands out. The last thirty seconds are an assault on the senses, with all three members producing a caterwaul of noise before the song's end.
Just See Fear is the most evocative of those early Stooges/Ramones recordings, with a straight-ahead, simple riff that drives the song, along with Gerycz's snappy drumwork. Giving Into Seeing straddles the line between indie and punk, dipping a toe over each side of the line throughout. The tom-heavy rhythms are more indie in style while the cheese-grater riffs are pure punk sensibilities. The track, however, is slightly ruined by a whiffy vocal performance and an outro that outstays its welcome. No Thoughts is another example of nuance, with the wall of guitar noise stripped away in the verses to bring the vocals to the forefront, though there's no loss of frenetic energy.
The final two tracks are interesting in that they contrast, in some ways, with the other material. Pattern Walks is a seven minute long punk/indie odyssey, and to the band's credit, there's enough shifts in the song to keep it interesting for the most part. It's the first time on the album where a riff hasn't been massive, raw chords; rather, it's a picked (but still heavily distorted) pattern. There are some clumsy attempts to create shifting contrasts in dynamics, but they're not so much light and shade as they are darkness and slightly lighter darkness. There's even a noise solo which consists of Baldi hacking at his strings like a madman. Sensibly, at the four and a half minute mark, the song changes slightly; there's no let up in tempo or intensity, but there's a change in the chord progression and the arrangement goes from a pared-back basic framework to a massive orchestral feel, thanks to the gradual adding of layers (and the clever use of keyboards as a prominent layer to provide a sweeter contrast to the bitter guitars.) It shows some evidence of a developing ability to create longer compositions, but still needs work.
Closing track I'm Not Part Of Me is, unsurprisingly, the album's primary single. I say 'unsurprisingly' because it's unquestionably the most commercial, 'poppy' track on the album. It combines a melodic, hooky riff with the band's raw, heavy aesthetic, and even the vocals (complete with harmonies) are pleasant and somewhat appealing. The guitars are stripped of most of their venom, especially in the verses. Even when they reappear, they are not as insanely loud as on the other tracks. It is quite a catchy, decent tune however, and to Cloud Nothings' credit, it still sounds like them - there's no 'sellout' of their aesthetic to appeal to a mass market. It's more a lowering of intensity.
The Verdict
It's pleasing that in 2014 there's still room for some roughly recorded, raucous sounding 70s punk inspired indie rock. Here and Nowhere Else might lack the musical intelligence of other, better, post-punk or post-hardcore bands, but it's still a decent listen and a nice alternative to the plethora of jangly softcock indie rock bands that are currently drenching the indie music scene. I look forward to more work from this Cleveland collective.
My rating: *** and a half
Standout Tracks
Psychic Trauma
I'm Not Part Of Me
Now Hear In
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