Interview - Cloud Nothings

2012 has been a year of reinvention for Cloud Nothings. In January the Ohio quartet, led by Dylan Baldi, released Attack On Memory, their third album in 18 months. The record signaled a shift in direction, moving away from the comfort of indie-pop to a dark, uncompromising and at times ambitious punk sound. It was a bold move which paid dividends. Earning the album a string of high review scores and new army of fans.

Six months on, Cloud Nothings are still riding the wave of hype and are about to embark on a world tour. Before the last show of their UK tour, [edit] radio caught up with Baldi in the paint cracked dressing room of the Leeds based, Brudenell Social Club, to grab a chat about Attack on Memory, the Queens diamond jubilee and a Japanese cafe where you can pay to stroke cats.

Dot To Dot Festival - Manchester - 4/6/2012 Dot To Dot Festival - Manchester - 4/6/2012

As the summer months are upon us and festival season has begun in earnest, ticket holders for camping festivals like Reading or Leeds, all start following the weather forecasts with a little more frequency. Are they going to get fair skies to compliment the £200 worth of music they’ve shelled out for? Or should they prepare for a Bear Grylls survival weekend? Like with all things reliant on weather over the British summer, nothing is certain. 

Maybe thats why day long urban festivals like Dot to Dot have become so popular? They offer a great lineup of venues and rising stars at a fraction of the cost, (a ticket for Dot to Dot was only £20) without the risk of a wash out. Indeed the overcast conditions in Manchester didn’t affect the enjoyment to be had over the 14 hours of exceptional music that Dot to Dot offered it’s attendees.

Music Festivals of 2012 #1 - Beacon’s Festival

Rising out of the wreckage of 2011’s flooding cancellation, Beacon’s Festival is back and this time bigger, better and most importantly more water resistant than ever! Having moved the site to an even more picturesque location and away from flood areas, the festival will see thousands of discerning music fans descend on the town of Carleton (near Skipton) to enjoy three days and four nights of some of the most groundbreaking musicians around.

The line up is incredible! Including [edit] radio favourites, Wild Beasts and Real Estate, who had the dubious honour of featuring in our 2011 albums of the year run down, and other artists we’ve supported such as King Krule, Willis Earl Beal and Cloud Nothings to name just a few. You can see the full line up here.

Whats even better is that this line up is available for the recession busting price of £74.50 for weekend tickets, with additional discounts available for students and for parents bringing along their children too.

To give you a flavour of the festival, which runs from 17th-19th August we’ve created a Beacon’s Spotify playlist for you to enjoy!

Rising Talent #1 - Cloud Nothings

On last January’s self titled album, Cloud Nothings Dylan Baladi created an album full of catchy Lo-Fi indie rock, that was high on memorable guitar hooks but lacked a little character to really stand out. What a difference a year makes. Since November, Baladi has drip fed three cuts from his new album, Attack The Memory and each track oozes confidence.

The first, “No Future/No Past” is the least immediate of the three. Baladi builds on an initially sparse piano, gradually adding layers of growling vocals, drums and guitars. Allowing the whole thing to reach a simmer until it finally boils over, letting loose a barrage of dirty riffs and snarls that will keep you coming back. It’s a massive change in direction and recalls some of the sound of Lo-Fi legends Archers Of Loaf.

The 'Loafs influence is more pronounced on the other two tracks, especially on “No Sentiment” which doesn’t quite match the glorious idiosyncrasies found in the ‘Loafs songwriting but is suitably moody and no less potent. On the last cut, “Stay Useless” Baladi fuses his Strokes like knack for writing a toe tapping chorus and hook with the ‘Loafs sound that to produces a genuine indie crowd pleaser. It’s only been 3 years since Baladi left collage to pursue a career in music, it’s starting to sound like he made the right decision.

Attack The Memory is due out on January 24th via Carpark.

Cloud Nothings - Should Have by Kevin Lawson

There has been some real buzz on Bitchfork and Hype Machine about the Cloud Nothings over the past few months. Their previous releases Turning On and Leave You Forever suggested that with a full blown studio recording they could produce something worthy of the attention being lavished upon them. A suggestion that in my opinion had been unfulfilled. That was until I heard 'Should Have'. Released as a snippet from their self-titled debut album it's vital, energetic and delivered with the smarmy conviction of a irritatingly intelligent teenager. Their album will winging its way into the shops (and your hearts?) on the 25th of January.


Cloud Nothings "Should Have" by carparkrecords