Cloud Nothings
Turning On (US - March 1, 2010)
Unsigned (album release via Speakertree/Bridgetown Records)
Chillwave/Lo-fi/Pop
File Next To - Wild Nothing/Beach Fossils/Wavves
The latest (and youngest) band to emerge from the lo-fi pop explosion of the US comes in the form of Cloud Nothings. Formed as the solo project of 18-year old Dylan Baldi, the band put on their first ever live show just last year, and dropped the self-released debut 'Turning On' via Speakertree and Bridgetown Records March 1, 2010. This year has already seen them play dates with Beach Fossils and Abe Vigoda, and a short tour with Nathan Williams (aka Wavves) will commence this coming June across the US. The Cleveland, Ohio pop band's debut record has undoubtedly been a success.
Whilst the vocals are mostly inaudible, and the guitar sound full and distorted, to call Turning On an aggressive or inaccessible album would be a grave mistake. The elements of punk which this album conveys come purely in the song structures - when the overall sound comes closer to the emerging surf pop scene out of California from this year and the last. 'Chillwave' as shaky as the term's definitions are, is certainly still vague enough to incorporate this band - especially when you take into account their associations. Memoryhouse, the Canadian dream pop project of Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion, have done a wonderfully ambient remix of Hey Cool Kid (an original album track which I shared back in February), and the shows with ambient garage/surf band Beach Fossils move them closer on the scale to the aforementioned movement.
Standing at just 26 minutes, this scratchy lo-fi pop album sounds like the part-time work of a musician very closely associated with the scenes he now forms a part of - and the latest in a long line of dreamy overdriven pop bands to make a stunning debut this year. Opener Can't Stay Awake is perhaps the loudest and most punk-influenced track on an album which over its half hour development becomes a relaxed guitar pop album with few points of reference, you can pick up two tracks below and a remix, and check out my last post on this band, featuring personal favourite album track, and suitably sarcastic 'Hey Cool Kid'.
As Kevin informed us on the last post - Turning On is available now with free shipping from Bridgetown Records, a deal you shouldn't let get away.
Cloud Nothings - Can't Stay Awake (MP3)
Cloud Nothings - Turning On (MP3)
Cloud Nothings - Hey Cool Kid (Memoryhouse Remix) (MP3)
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