Searching for a way to entertain himself while not in class at Case Western Reserve University in 2009, Dylan Baldi created his own solo project Cloud Nothings. On Jan. 23, 2012, Baldi, now in accompaniment with traveling band mates TJ Duke, Jayson Gerycz and Joe Boyer, released Cloud Nothing’s third LP, “Attack on Memory.”
After the release of their first full-length album “Turning On,” a combination of self-recorded alternative punk songs suffocated by too much distortion and poor acoustics, Cloud Nothings found themselves on the music map.
Signed with Carpark, Cloud Nothings took their original sound and improved it immensely. Though Baldi was still recording on his own, Cloud Nothings’ second self-titled LP showed that the band had tweaked their sound to be more professional yet still raw and original.
“Attack on Memory” is Cloud Nothings’ first album without Baldi recording it. The initial track, “No Future No Past” emulates a team effort with the droning drums, carrying the song from sounding almost identical to something Brand New would produce, followed by a monotonous yet intriguing set of vocals all tied together by a piano and a pair of guitars. As the song progresses, a melodic darkness ensues, clearing away all preconceptions of what this new album had in store and keeping the audience thoroughly intrigued and inspired to hear the remaining seven tracks.
It is apparent that Cloud Nothings are reaching over and beyond what audiences anticipated with this album, “Attack on Memory” does away with the pop-punk beats from their past two LP’s and carries this full length into a darker, more emotional and professionally produced album.
With a newfound garage punk, lo-fi and alternative punk sound, Cloud Nothings takes on the challenge of creating an almost nine minute track, “Wasted Days” and places it at number two on the record. The emotional vocals contrast with a beautiful massacre of music made up of palpitating drum rolls and repetitive deep riffs. The song stands out to any other Cloud Nothings song. The track is haunting, psychedelic and most of all, extremely surprising for a band known for their previously fizzy-pop style.
After hearing high-wattage screams and painful vocals, the third song,“Fall In” comes off as almost an Irish-style pop punk with a hint of rock song. This track could almost be a breath of fresh air leading into the remainder of the album following such a heavy previous song. This track leads straight into the next track “Stay Useless” with just a simple rhythm shift but the same hopped up vocal melodies and percussion beats.
It is highly apparent that Steve Albini, the man behind the recording of “Attack on Memory,” played an extremely large part behind the professionalized hooks and catchiness of this album.
With the help of Albini, Cloud Nothings have produced an album that is alive and real to all those who take the time to listen. The explosion of sound that this album produces has the ability to be addicting and inspiring, and it truly shows the progression of a guy who started in his basement and is now sharing his talent with the world for all to enjoy.
