Friday, January 13, 2012

REVIEW: Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory



Grade: 93% (A)

Something has happened in the last year to Cloud Nothings frontman Dylan Baldi. Maybe the whiplash from LeBron's "Decision" has finally caught up to the Clevelander. The lyrics from his newest effort may lead to one thinking he went through a break up. Either way, the twenty year old is angry and nasty on the band's newest release Attack on Memory. He even considered changing the band's name in wake of the change in sound.


This change is evident only ten seconds into the new record. The dark opener "No Future/No Past" builds into a euphoric screaming, a way of letting Baldi's emotions out. It's both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The guitar slaying and vexation doesn't stop there. The second track "Wasted Days" picks the tempo up but keeps the woeful theme. While it may seem as though it has a pop edge to it, wait till you meet the three minute mark, where it breaks down into one of the best guitar frenzies I've ever heard. Baldi and Co. truly know how to discharge their emotions using their instruments. It swells with a flowing tempo, and the guitars are flailing around you like a bunch of Death Eaters in their black smoke, seen for one second and then disappeared the next. As it moves forward you sense a climax is near, but can't put your finger on what it will bring; merriment or more frustration. Seconds before it breaks, it becomes clear: the band is not ready to move on as they calm things down only to crack right into the chorus they chanted prior to the jam. 

Henceforth the band retains some of the pop elements that their debut held. "Fall In" and "Stay Useless" are both solid guitar led lighter tracks. Nevertheless, Baldi sings with an irritated twinge in his voice during the verses of the former. "Stay Useless" features the cutest guitar work on the album and Baldi uses the chorus to create a possible hit amongst those who might not understand the darkness of the rest of the record. Even so, his lyrics are still no ray of sunshine. 

The record is only eight tracks long but is easily longer than their self-titled which came in at only 28 minutes over eleven tracks. This is mainly due to the fact that the guitar work on this record is top notch, not only compared to their previous release, but to other albums in general. The songs don't exude the rangy guitar solos you see with most musicians. Instead, their guitar work is all over the fretboard and at breakneck speeds. They go from power chords to quick solo pops back and forth at impressive rates. As previously stated, they use their guitars more than lyrics to show their exasperation. This is best shown on the instrumental track "Separation," who's title works well to show the difference between the third and fourth tracks and the final three.

Where the band goes from here is most interesting. At such a young age, Baldi has already gone from one pole to the other while still covering some solid ground in between. As he says, this album is more of an "experience" than the first and is clearly the better of the two, However, if they can bridge the gap and include more tracks with pop elements to compliment the darkness of the others, they could truly break through onto the scene as more than just a group of angry kids with guitars. Does that mean I want them to? No, because to me their music is perfect just the way it is right now; young and pissed off. They can do whatever they want from here and have proven they have no issue with doing that. 

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