Ever since Dylan Baldi was encouraged to employ a full backing band for his (at the time) bedroom solo project, CLOUD NOTHINGS have been moving from strength to strength. Third album ‘Attack on Memory’ takes the lo-fi indie developed on previous releases to new heights, infusing a generous amount of punk sensibilities into the hipster-friendly sound.
‘Attack on Memory’ arguably opens with the two best tracks on the album; the extremely dark and emotive ‘No Future/No Past’ and the epic ‘Wasted Days’. Baldi exposes the audience to his creative side in the first thirteen minutes, delivering sounds that reference RADIOHEAD at their most bleak or an even less clean-cut THE STOKED. At its heart ‘Attack on Memory’ is an indie record, but the intense drum patterns and painfully overextended vocals provoke the juxtaposition of beauty and desolation. For example, ‘No Sentiment’ takes all that is known about the modern lo-fi indie and transforms it into something desolate and delectable. The penultimate track ‘Our Plans’ would hardly be amiss on a Yourcodenameis:milo album, while ‘Cut You’ may have all the ingredients of an indie dance-floor filler, only to be transcended by Baldi’s gruff, off-key vocals and immaculate distortion.
There are isolated moments on ‘Attack on Memory’ that veer towards the mainstream sound; ‘Fall In’ and ‘Stay Useless’ being the radio-friendly arrangements on the album by allowing the melody to overpower the ominous atmosphere prominent elsewhere. Following these, the entirely instrumental offering ‘Separation’ acts as a three minute bridge back to the world created in the opening minutes. Despite the considered structure of the album there seems little need in lifting the perfectly formed mood; ‘Fall In’ proving particularly mismatched.
Dylan Baldi’s brainchild is a magnificent crossover between indie and punk. ‘Attack on Memory’ is music for hipsters with the emotive passion and character to make it truly unique. The dark and brooding atmosphere which underpins the entire album forms an impeccable infrastructure on which the melodic and lyrical layers can be placed. CLOUD NOTHINGS have delivered something accessible and innovative, a difficult combination that should see the bands popularity explode in 2012.
BEN TIPPLE