Dylan Baldi may have moved out of his parents' basement, but his garageland rifferama proves he's still a cellar dweller at heart
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio.
The lineup: Dylan Baldi (vocals, instruments), plus band for gigs.
The background: Maybe because Cloud Nothings' name is similar to Wild Nothing's, perhaps because the word "cloud" suggests all things drifty and vague, we were expecting this Cleveland band to be exponents of narcoleptic murmur-rock. Far from it. In fact, the 11 tracks on their self-titled debut album whizz by in a blur of lo-fi riffs that, when they're good, remind us of all our favourite late-70s power pop and mid-90s Elephant 6 records, and when they're not so good, of all those annoyingly bratty pop-punk groups that followed Green Day.
Actually, they're not really a band at all, or at least, they're not when it comes to recording. Dylan Baldi, the 19-year-old behind Cloud Nothings, sang all the parts and played all the instruments on the album, which is surprising because it's not remotely a solipsist synth-kid affair. It sounds like the work of a band, albeit a ramshackle one who favour cheap equipment and the sort of tinny din designed for 70s radios.
Baldi may have progressed beyond the basement of his parents' suburban home where he recorded his early demos; he may have just signed to Wichita and be able to boast a higher budget as well as a proper producer (Chester Gwazda, known for his work with Dan Deacon and Future Islands) in a proper studio (Baltimore's Copycat Building), but he's still a cellar dweller at heart. We've read a review that talks about how Cloud Nothings "shines through with a crispness and boldness that Dylan has always envisioned", but really what we like about the songs is that they don't sound crisp and bold but sludgy and crude ? like Nils Lofgren's Keith Don't Go at warp speed, heard through cement headphones.
One of the tracks, Didn't You, features what sounds like a Bontempi or Farfisa organ, but that's about it regarding experimentation and sonic invention. After that it's garageland rifferama all the way, and the lyrics, which deal with high-school romance, are similarly basic, making a virtue out of the banal. "I don't like being alone but I don't like being with you," Baldi sings at one point, pithily insightful in the manner of all the best succinct, hook-laden power pop.
His voice can be keening and high, which is power pop's male-singer default setting, but he can snarl, too, making us think of the singer from the Scruffs, a long-forgotten Memphis band from the late-70s whose albums bear the none-more-power-pop titles TeenAge Gurls and Angst, the Early Years. Cloud Nothings are equally knowing and pop conscious, even if they may only be destined for a similar kind of cult appreciation.
The buzz: "The effect is akin to early Libertines battling it out with Guided By Voices as filtered through a Postcard Records sensibility" ? Mojo.
The truth: Wanna meet Cloud Nothings? You should.
Most likely to: Be succinct.
Least likely to: Suck.
What to buy: The eponymous debut album is released on 24 January by Wichita.
File next to: The Scruffs, the Real Kids, Apples in Stereo, H�sker D�.
Links: myspace.com/cloudnothings
Tuesday's new band: G-Side.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/17/new-band-cloud-nothings
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