Album Review: Cloth - 'Pink Silence'
Going three-for-three, ‘Pink Silence’ firmly cements Cloth as one of Glasgow’s bands to watch.
Glasgow based duo Cloth are back with offerings of music that taps into new sides of their artistry. For the Swinton twins, the beautifully titled ‘Pink Silence’ is a lesson in learning to let go. Paul and Rachael’s feather-light approach to songwriting and instrumentation that had informed their previous work remains a constant on this album but also sees them embrace things they hadn’t tried before. Produced by Ali Chant and with a cast of collaborators including Portishead’s Adrian Utley and Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, the guitar interplay which we have always associated with their artistry is now adorned with new flourishes and texture. The release comes after the soaring success of ‘Secret Measure’ which in 2023 was nominated for the Scottish Album of The Year. 2025 is just starting to get going but theres little doubt that ‘Pink Silence’ is going to make a lot of noise.
Inspiration for the album and its titular track came from Paul uncovering and developing the idea of ‘Pink Silence’. A state of mind, it is a means to describe the feelings you have either early in the morning or in the evening, when the sky is illuminated in warm shades of pink, orange and purple. He explains
‘Depending on your mindset at a given time, those moments can either feel blissfully serene, or charged with a sense of foreboding. Those times are always beautiful, but the experience of them can be very different, especially if your mind is awash with overthinking - as mine often is. I really liked the idea that something so natural and beautiful could have such an emotional duality to it.’
The album opens with the track from which this phenomenon is based, a love story that plays out between the hours of dawn and dusk. Its synth lines and the whispery vocals from Rachael establish a curious atmosphere that matches the backdrop of the Pink Silence sky wonderfully. The instrumentation is written in such a way that it leaves the listener wanting more - Cloth are keen to not show their full hand just yet. It’s clear there is something coming but we aren’t given any indication as to what that is or how it will make us feel. As the song progresses, new textures and sounds are brought in. Distorted guitar lines, harmonies and a bassline that comes closer to the front give the track a real sense of intensity and urgency. Paul in his explanation talks about a sense of foreboding that can come from Pink Silence and whilst that isn’t exactly how I would describe what I feel when listening to it, there is certainly a sense that whatever journey we are on is quickly approaching a critical juncture. It’s exciting and gives you a real hunger to listen to the rest of the album.
A real highlight emerges in the halfway point of the album, ‘The Cottage’. It marks an audible shift from everything that comes before it and in many ways acts as a way for both Cloth and listeners to pause and just breathe for a second. In their reflections on the different tracks, both Paul and Rachael note ‘The Cottage’ as being the most stripped back song on the album and as such brings with it a really meditative and poignant feel. There’s a lyric on the track that for me, encapsulates everything it is trying to say: ‘Just know that you make me light’. The track which loosely explores themes of loss and quiet introspection, seeks to articulate just how much the people in your life mean to you. There's a definite sadness and nostalgia that fuels Paul and Rachael’s writing here but the fundamental takeaway feeling you get from listening is love.
Several tracks feature string orchestrations from Owen Pallett. The aforementioned ‘The Cottage’ is a favourite from Rachael and Paul but I particularly enjoyed the features on closing track, ‘Write it Down’. A bringing together of everything, it was always going to be the last song on ‘Pink Silence’. The instrumentation has a real sense of finality to it and the lyrics tie up any ends that had been left. A kind of continuation from ‘Burn’, the penultimate track, it explores the process of moving on from criticism to a place of acceptance.
‘while life might always feel chaotic and unpredictable, there’s a comfort to knowing there are some things you can’t,or shouldn’t try to, control.’
There isn’t a string ‘section’ per se, more a motif played throughout that gets highlighted here and there. There was a lot of intention put into the layering of sounds across the album and the strings here is no exception. Listening to the track several times over and over, one could suggest that the strings are a musical representation of the message that underpins all ten tracks on the album: that it’s okay to let go. An audible reminder that they can let the music speak for itself. It’s the perfect last song.
Alongside the album release, there’s lots to get excited about over the next few months for Cloth fans. For those lucky enough to have secured tickets, there is a collection of sold out signing shows up and down the country in the coming weeks. Whilst most of us will have missed out this opportunity to listen to the album in such an intimate and close setting, there’s also been the announcement of a handful of shows between May and August, some of which see Cloth team up with collaborators Mogwai and fellow Scottish songwriter Hamish Hawk. Definite dates for the calendar are the 17th of May where they will be playing support in the iconic Glasgow Barrowlands Ballroom as well as August 8th as part of the Fringe by the Sea festival.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
