Album Review: Cloud Nothings - 'Last Building Burning'

Cloud Nothings return more full of love, life and anger than ever before.

Before I turn into heartless music critic douchebag guy, allow me to be human with you for one second. The Cloud Nothings' song "Stay Useless" is legitimately one of my favourite songs over the last five or six years. I think the song is almost so perfect that I don't want to listen to anything else unless it spoils it: see "The Rat" by The Walkmen or "Arming Eritrea" by Future of the Left for more examples. Naturally my curiosity takes over and sometimes in the case of FotL, i become inevitably obsessed. However, there's always the way of The Walkmen- a band so frustratingly almost good I've just had to give up. So imagine my nervousness being asked to review "Last Building Burning", the new album from a band that for my own wellbeing cannot afford to be shit. so REJOICE DEAR READERS! THE CLOUD NOTHINGS ARE DEFINITELY DEFINITELY NOT SHIT!! And here's why...

Good Garage rock should be three things, loud, angry and fun. Dylan Baldi's songs are always intense but they have a certain charm to them that keeps them fun. This is something you can definitely find yourself screaming along to in a state of hopeless abandon. Another thing that Cloud Nothings achieve on this album (see "No Future/No Past" for a past reference) is build up to a "pitting moment" perfectly. "Offer an End" and single "The Echo of the World" have massive euphoric buildups before Baldi's impassioned vocal screams incoherent nothingness over the top. Both phenomenal raw punk rock songs. Dissolution is the Cloud Nothings traditional squirmer of sheer intensity, stretching out over ten minutes (and when the rest of the songs don't break four, it makes one hell of a statement) and recalls fan favourite "Wasted Days" from Attack on Memory. The only weaknesses on the album is that you can make obvious links to prior songs that these guys have penned. But when the riffs are this golden, the passion this no-holds-barred and the songs are this catchy, it's difficult to care. Like a Weezer for the less nerdy, Cloud Nothings plough head first into your brain and do not intend to leave there.

Words by James Kitchen