Cloud Nothings

Cloud Nothings-Final Summer-bioSome bands never miss. This rare breed consistently puts out great records every couple years, avoiding thelengthy hiatuses or egregious sonic missteps that often come with achieving longevity. It’s an often unsungreliability, as few realize how truly remarkable it is to put art into the world at this rate without letting thequality slip. For nearly 15 years, Cloud Nothings have continued to hit the target, steadily becoming a part ofthe fabric of modern indie rock as we know it with a run of fantastic albums. This streak continues unabatedwith their latest full-length,Final Summer–an album that’s so assured, so instantly satisfying, that it forces youto pause and realize you’re listening to one of the great American rock bands in their prime.Formed in 2009 by guitarist/vocalist Dylan Baldi, Cloud Nothings evolved over the years from a one-man lo-fiproject into a finely tuned unit also composed of drummer Jayson Gerycz and bassist Chris Brown. CloudNothings, over so many years and so many records (nine or ten “depending on how you look at it,” laughsBaldi), have existed long enough to witness all sorts of musical moments come and go, but the secret to theirendurance isn’t about savvily navigating trends. “We’ve just never felt inclined to stop,” Baldi explains. “It’s notlike this makes us millions of dollars, but it’s a great gig, it’s what we love to do.” Gerycz adds, “It’s just still sofun every time we do it, every time we go get in the basement and start writing.”And it shows. Recorded with Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, The War On Drugs, Torres, Purling Hiss), mixed by SarahTudzin (Porches, Tim Hiedecker, Pom Pom Squad), and mastered by Jack Callahan (Ryley Walker,Merchandise, Wolf Eyes),Final Summeris bursting with the unbridled joy that only comes from playingguitars and drums loudly. This is not the work of a scrappy new band cramming all of their ideas into a debutalbum or grizzled veterans grinding through another release: it’s one of the tightest and most invigorating rockbands active today, driven to make the best version of themselves. “I just like making things,” says Baldi. “I lovehaving something that I’ve made by the end of the day, even if it’s just one song. It’s like proof that my dayhappened. I’mjust always trying to refine the thing we do, which is to make songs that take you from one placeto another.”Very few bands take listeners on that kind of journey within a hooky rock song as effectively as CloudNothings, and the album’s opening title track proves exactly why. A wash of crackling synths sets the scenebefore the band roars to life with a cuttingriff and Gerycz’s driving beat. From there, it’s layer after layer ofinterlocking melodies and guitar lines, all rising action while Baldi lays out the album’s overarching lyricalideas. “It’s about feeling alright in the moment,” Baldi says. “A lot of these songs sort of ended up being aboutgetting by or trying to keep improving despite everything.”His lyrics often take on a mantra-like quality, using repetition and a one-of-a-kind delivery to dig somethingdeeper out of observations about the mundane or frustrating parts of life. On earlyFinal Summerstandout “I’dGet Along,” Baldi repeats “if something would happen with me...” over and over, each time adding to thetension before the track’s truly massive chorus explodes with a cacophony of fuzzed-out guitars and a howling“I’d get along.” Throughout the record, Cloud Nothings strike their trademarkbalance of inventiveness andaccessibility, with every track full of hooks but also the kinds of details and twists that reward repeat listens.“The Golden Halo” feels like a two-minute-long chorus, hook after hook careening forward with a motorik beatandever-growing sea of voices, while elsewhere songs like “Mouse Policy” or “Running Through The Campus”take very literal ideas and spin them into something else through walls of thick bass and thunderous distortion.OnFinal Summercloser “Common Mistake,” Baldi sings,“This is your life, it’s a common mistake. We’ll bealright, just give more than you take.”It’s the kind of deceptively direct lyric that he excels at, a clear and realsentiment filtered through a melody that’s stuck in your head before the end of the first chorus. The line couldalmost be an accidental mission statement for the band itself: agroup that creates with a workman-like