2012’s Attack on Memory by Cloud Nothings was and remains one of my most visited records. The fucking breakdown in “Wasted Days” is one of the most intense and inspiring I’d heard in years. How these guys could remind me of the best parts of Fugazi and Sonic Youth and make it their own still astounds.
I caught them live in Austin with UME and Portugal the Man. Cloud Nothings have this lightning in a bottle approach to guitar music that grabs me by the throat and dares me to live better, try harder and quit fucking around. It’s likely reverse psychology at work on Attack on Memory. By contrast, the material and lyrical content are dark and filled with rage, longing and melodic guitar lines. When Baldi sings, “I thought I would be more than this,” you exchange the “I” for yourself and can’t help but wonder similar things. Is this all I am capable of? How can I not trip on my own two feet walking down the street?
I mean, everyone wonders the same thing. Right?
It doesn’t matter. Because as soon as that noise-drenched interlude gets 2/3’s of the way through and the drums are pounding you forget what it was you were asking in the first place.
Their forthcoming album Here and Nowhere Else (out 3/26 on Carpark/Mom + Pop (Mom + Pop put out last year’s AMAZEBALLZ record Shulamath by Poliça)) promises much earned levity and based on the recently released single, “I’m Not Part of Me,” we can expect a bend in the elbow to the mouth of Baldi’s Fuck It All approach from the previous record. Layered production. More refined song writing. Great guitar playing. Stellar arrangements. How can he not be stoked with the critical acclaim of the past album? Maybe a smile? See these guys live.STREAM: “I’m Not Part Of Me” – https://soundcloud.com/cloudnothings/im-not-part-of-me
A Coat of Red Paint In Hell 