Cloud Nothings: “Turning On” … omg they turned me on

photo by Romorosso http://www.flickr.com/photos/romorosso/

Can’t Stay Awake mp3 Turning On Cloud Nothings ….. buy it

I stumbled into the Empty Bottle last Monday night to catch one of my favorite dastardly duos, My Gold Mask and I just got there early enough to catch this wonderful little band from Cleveland. I have to tell you, right from the first beat, I was completely mesmerized by their drummer. This guy’s sticks were a blur but not because he drums so incredibly fast… his arms are just so fluid; I’ve rarely seen anyone so loose and yet not sloppy. His skills perfectly match the sound Dylan Baldi crafted on his debut album Turing On. Dylan, if you read this, consider my advice: hang on to that drummer if at all possible.

But, Cloud Nothings has more going for it than just that. Baldi’s delivery hovers in the apex of lo-fi, garage rock stardom if such an oxymoron could exist. With his guitar worn high on his lean, lanky frame, this front man belts it out into the mic, leaning back between words to seemingly shake off any semblance of normalcy that singing required of him with the full body spasms that indie punk pop demands. All the while his fellow guitarists back him up with equal fervor. Color me wildly entranced by the entire set.

The album opens with this killer pop track, continues with more finely crafted tunes. The title track, “Turning On” is slightly repetitive at first listen, but after hearing it live, I cannot listen to it the same way again. It is beautiful evolving into FUN; just a total let loose affair.  Baldi has the knack for writing lyrics as well as memorable melodies. Time was well spent in recording good, solid harmonies and layers that don’t muck up the not-quite-finished-yet sound that I love about lo-fi. It’s not as raw as Phil and the Osophers, not as rowdy as anything approaching noise, there’s a very clear melodic quality to everything and a real pop appreciation to where Baldi is going here. Thankfully it’s not as slick as Surfer Blood, it’s frankly right in the spot where I thought some bands who got a lot of press last year were going to be and just weren’t. Sure, there’s room to move forward, it’s a debut album and this is a new, new, new project. It shows immense promise. (Do I really need to tell you that Dylan Baldi is 18 years old?) More than one to watch, Cloud Nothings is one you’d best focus on my darlings, xoxo

Read this awesome interview in Lodown Magazine

Did you catch them at SXSW? Let me know what you thought.