Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else

It has been an unusual journey for Dylan Baldi, the man behind Cleveland based Cloud Nothings. He was signed as a one-man band and released his first two albums, Turned On and the self-titled Cloud Nothings, were recorded as such. They were full of lo-fi noise pop at its most frantic and fun, with catchy hooks oozing out of every song. They fitted seamlessly, although with little fanfare, into the lo-fi indie scene of the time. It was The Pains of Being Pure at Heart running late for a dentist appointment, Titus Andronicus after a Disney film or Wavves if they’d never seen any real waves. They were good, but they weren’t the most necessary of bands. In 2012, Cloud Nothings recorded Attack on Memory. It was the first recorded with the live line-up and was widely heralded at the time for being the dreaded “massive direction change”. As someone who was a big fan of their early stuff, I approached it with a fairly closed mind. I was expecting it to be shit, but I was so wrong. They may have abandoned their noise pop roots. Sounding more like At the Drive-In, Unwound and Fugazi than Best Coast, and the lo-fi production completely absent, it was certainly a big switch up. It was a switch up that changed them from obscure also-rans into one of the most important bands in modern indie rock. Mixing the catchy hooks with post-hardcore, grunge and a new found sense of disillusionment, it was one of the albums of 2012. Here and Nowhere Else is not a massive direction change. Despite losing the extra guitarist, the sound remains pretty similar. There’s still catchy hooks, there’s still strong post-hardcore and grunge influences, there’s still a furious sense of urgency. It might not be innovative, but it’s still really fucking good. Opening track, Now Here In, is an absolute beast that would have fitted in perfectly on Attack on Memory. Catchy riffs are matched with Dylan’s laid back drawl, slowly building up to an explosive solo and a big singalong finale. Giving Into Seeing draws a lot from Sonic Youth, with repeated screams of “swallow” matched with a haunting dissonant guitar that just keeps rising. It’s absolutely brilliant. All bands should sound like Sonic Youth. No Thoughts is Cloud Nothings at their most intense, whilst closer I’m Not Part of Me features some of his catchiest work allied with some of his best ever lyrics. Baldi’s always been a big fan of repeating a single line and “I’m not telling you all I’m going through” is definitely one of his best refrains. The highlight of Attack on Memory was the nine minute long Wasted Days. Bravely featuring second on the album it remains an absolute tune. They seem to have gone with a similar idea of having one long track here, the seven and a half minute Pattern Walks is a bit more traditionally positioned as the penultimate track. It certainly doesn’t have the same impact that Wasted Days did, but it’s still pretty good. It follows a similar pattern of catchy section followed by instrumental section followed by another catchy bit, but it’s just not at the same level. The highlight here is Psychic Trauma. A slowed down first verse is pleasant enough, but it’s the sudden tempo change that makes it. Everything gets faster, louder and more intense. It doesn’t let up, it just keeps getting better. Cloud Nothings seem to have settled on this sound, but that’s for the best. As much as I enjoy the old stuff, this is better. Loads better. Attack on Memory was one of the best indie rock album of the last five years or so, and this one’s definitely the best of this year so far. It’s perfect shout-along-at-a-gig type stuff, but there’s a lot of musical substance if you want to dig deeper. This is a highly rewarding listen, and it comes with a high recommendation from me, if perhaps a slightly less high one than Attack on Memory...