Album Reviews

Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory

It's rather amazing how some bands can do so many things right, but a critical stumble in one area can ruin an entire album. Cloud Nothings' Attack On Memory is, in many ways, an excellent album. The common fuzzy, lo-fi sound that's quite common in indie rock nowadays is gone, replaced with a grittier  sound that still sounds quite clear. The guitar riffs are memorable, and catchy choruses abound. So...what's wrong? In two words, the vocals.

Indie is a genre where rough vocals can get forgiven more readily than most. Somehow, a nasal whine or a problem with pitch sounds more tolerable; yet Dylan Baldi's raspy croak hinders many a good song on Attack On Memory. “No Future No Past” exemplifies this perfectly; the transition from ominous and sparse to intense and energetic is well-executed, but it's really hard to care about anything Baldi's saying when his voice is positively grating. The similarly slow “No Sentiment” highlights this even more, and it makes the album somewhat painful to listen to.

But fear not! The rest of the band (and producer Steve Albini) turn in a heroic effort to make the album listenable, and frequently succeed. “Fall In” has plucky riffs and never lets up on the gas pedal. The instrumental “Separation” has just a hint of ska and even more energy, largely thanks to some stellar drum work, and it's easily an album highlight. Similarly frantic drumming makes the otherwise unremarkable “Our Plans” a catchy, memorable track. 

If there's any moment where Baldi's voice isn't a hindrance, it's “Stay Useless.” The frustrated angst that permeates the album works best here, as Baldi cries, “I need time to stop moving, I need time to stay useless!” with just enough nasality to sound sincere instead of simply tone-deaf. Oh, and some raucous instrumental work elevate this from catchy to thoroughly entertaining.

All told, Attack On Memory has a lot of potential, and it's great to see an indie band that's not content to follow the trends of their peers. But Baldi's got some serious work to do for this band to ever reach their potential; if his vocals even upgrade from “awful” to “mediocre,” Cloud Nothings could take the indie world by storm.

Photo Courtesy: georgia.kral (flickr)

 
Photo Courtesy: blikeng (flikr)

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