Cloud Nothings Playing “Stay Useless” At KEXP

It seemingly happens every year, if not every few months – a few young bands eschewing sonic trends and instead sticking to just guitars, bass and drums come along at the same time and suddenly we have a “rock revival” on our hands. Some of the fuzziest groups from 2012’s incarnation of the “rock is back!” meme will appear at Fuji Rock, including the earnest chug of Japandroids and the mosh-pit-friendly Fucked Up. Cloud Nothings, added to the Fuji Rock Festival line-up earlier this week, continue this trend towards straight-ahead rock, their take on garage rock and 90’s emo resulting in some of the best rock music released so far this year.

Cloud Nothings started in 2009 as the solo project of Cleveland’s Dylan Baldi, who at the time was a college freshman. On trips back home he would record songs in his parent’s basement and then post the results online. His Cloud Nothings’ songs caught the attention of a small record label, which released Baldi’s first EP Turning On. This brief record carries all the hallmarks of being recorded underneath a living room – each song is glazed with feedback, and making out Baldi’s lyrics can be tough. Yet despite not-top-notch recording quality, Turning On’s tunes sound great, each song blessed with a great hook.

The EP attracted further attention, and Baldi assembled an actual band to perform Cloud Nothing’s music live. In 2010, Cloud Nothings signed to Carpark Records and released a self-titled debut album in January 2011. The band then began work on a new album, eventually titled Attack On Memory, which was produced by famed producer Steve Albini. The album came out at the start of this year, and quickly became Cloud Nothing’s most heralded release yet, receiving strong reviews from various music publications.

Attack On Memory stands as a big shift in sound for the young group. The recording quality has improved immensely, Baldi’s singing now clear and the overall sound more polished. The overall album might come off as a less muddled affair, but Cloud Nothings themselves are more aggressive on this album. Baldi now sings in a throaty growl, a move that makes already hope-deprived lines like “I need time to stop moving/I need time to stay useless” even more angsty and relateable. The band, meanwhile, knows when to barrel straight ahead and when to turn the volume up to make these songs more menacing. Despite all of this, the songs remain catchy, tracks like “Fall In” and “Our Plans” built for punters to shout right back at the band.

Cloud Nothing’s live show has also been garnering approval over the past six months. They were one of the most talked-up acts at this year’s South By Southwest and delivered with energized sets. They played their first Japanese show recently at the Hostess Club Weekender event in June, at Ebisu. It was another good set from a group starting to gain a reputation as excellent live performers.

Cloud Nothings’ Website