Over the course of the last two years, Cleveland’s Dylan Baldi, who puts out music as Cloud Nothings, recorded and released a handful of singles and EPs. Many of these were limited edition, cassette-only offerings that found their way into the hands of music fans after they were collected on 2010's Turning On.
Turning On consisted mostly of home-recorded tracks that fit firmly in line with the lo-fi aesthetic that has become so prevalent in the early years of this millennium. In many cases, the noise and fuzz that dominates this style seems less choice and more necessity, as it serves to hide the musical shortcomings of the songwriting. Not the case for Baldi. Beneath the hiss and crackle, there were exuberant hooks and sunny, power-pop songs that begged for a more out in front (if not polished) presentation.
Happily, the Cloud Nothings LP delivers on the promise of the earlier work without abandoning the immediacy or charm that piqued interest in the first place. While it was recorded in a studio, with a producer, and with three other bandmates, the self-titled album is still rough enough around the edges to appeal to fans of its predecessor. Cloud Nothings' 11 songs feature compositions that echo the kind of power-pop born of garage bands; and pop-punk that recalls a time when "pop-punk" wasn’t a bad word. Fans of similarly inclined contemporary artists, such as Jay Reatard, Waaves and Japandroids, will find much to love.
The album kicks off with “Understand At All,” one of its finest songs. The verses feature chugging guitars and angsty vocals resembling a less distorted On The Mouth-era Superchunk. The song really takes off when it reaches the soaring falsetto hook that it rides into a chorus that repeats the phrase “I don’t understand at all,” over and over again. The song is about a youthful relationship and the chorus emphasizes not being able to make sense of why a romance isn’t working.
The next track, “Not Important,” follows the same template while amping up the tempo and the snotty, nasally tone of the vocals. Again, the chorus relies on repetition and, for this go ‘round, the lyrics: “You’re not that important and/ that will always stay the same.” This is the kind of thing one only says – or in this case screams – when they mean exactly the opposite. The formula is repeated throughout the album's 28-minute running time, including other standout tracks “Heartbeat” and “You’re Not That Good at Anything”. All the songs illustrate Baldi's knack for pop hooks and scream-along choruses. It’s hard not to become smitten.
The songs on Cloud Nothings are more about tapping into the mood of a moment than really getting to the bottom of it. The lyrics are not deep. They are not particularly poetic – but it's clear that is not the point. It is this slightly juvenile approach that will make most Cloud Nothings listeners either love or loathe the music. In its essence, a great pop song is one that we can connect with on a visceral level. Intellectually stimulating lyrics are a bonus, but if the emotions don’t match the sentiments, we’re left with something that feels distant. Cloud Nothings is anything but distant. It succeeds precisely because the songs live in the present, avoid the contemplative and are dutiful only to the heart.
WATCH + LISTEN: Cloud Nothings - "Understand At All" / Directed by Allen Cordell
