Cloud Nothings - Here And Nowhere Else (Album Review)
Wednesday, 02 April 2014
Written by Huw Baines
Photo: Pooneh Ghana
‘Here And Nowhere Else’ works as a continuation of a theme, picking up from Cloud Nothings’ visceral leap into full band territory with ‘Attack On Memory’ and running with it. Here, Dylan Baldi again proves that the quiet man in the room is often capable of making the most noise.
Alongside TJ Duke and drummer Jayson Gerycz, Baldi has put more distance between Cloud Nothings now and Cloud Nothings then, with almost no trace left of the lo-fi pop that characterised ‘Turning On’ and its self-titled follow-up. He is still in thrall to melodies, but the many on display here are only unravelled after a couple of listens, and after navigating a maze of distorted guitar lines.
‘Here And Nowhere Else’ is, apparently, a more upbeat record than its predecessor, but any rays of sunlight penetrate only for a second. It’s another intense listen, one that’s evidence of a young band learning fast about the benefits of rapid, dynamic shifts in pace.
It is Gerycz who kicks Now Hear In and Psychic Trauma into action, his pounding beats upping the ante as Baldi howls his way through two of the record’s most arresting hooks. "I'm continuing the family tradition of yelling at kids," he deadpanned in a recent interview with Pitchfork.
John Congleton, in the producer’s chair occupied by an apparently nonplussed Steve Albini on ‘Attack On Memory’, has shoved the drums front and centre and prompted a vastly improved vocal performance from Baldi, who is feral and brilliant as No Thoughts collapses in on itself beneath another Gerycz barrage.
Cloud Nothings have never sounded this big, or this confident before. ‘Here And Nowhere Else’ is a combative, often thrilling record from a band discovering their true calling.
Thu May 22 2014 - MANCHESTER Manchester Deaf Institute
Fri May 23 2014 - GLASGOW Stereo, Glasgow
Tue May 27 2014 - LONDON Scala
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