Album Review: Cloud Nothings-Turning On

Cloud Nothings have been a band for less than 3 months now. They are another one man lo-fi side project band, this time with members of Neon Tongues and Ponyta. This entire album was recorded and released before they even played their first live shows. It also happens to be one of the catchiest and best debuts of the year.

Cloud Nothings are true endorsers of their name. Besides inspiring the actually unchessey cover art, all their songs have a lightness and softness to them, probably due to being from the Cleveland scene rather than the Brooklyn one. Not to say it's wimpy or boring, but less dark, like if caUSE co-MOTION! wrote longer songs and decided to add fuzz to their reverb. This especially comes out on songs like opener "Can't Stay Awake" which could almost pass for a newer caUSE co-MOTION! track or the tangled mess of a riff that makes up the core of "You Are Opening".

But the whole album is not just one slight rip off of one band. The title track is a stellar mix of knee jerky guitar and nervous vocals, that it would make the '77 Talking Heads proud. Of course that is before the album dives into the bright, utterly unbelievable centerpiece that is "Hey Cool Kid". Made up of a neat sped up vocal delivery, pounding drums, and a guitar line that sound like it's being played on barbed wire strings, it still manages to infect your whole bod and mind more great Slumberland style pop with "Whatcha Wanna Know". The ending track "Real Thing" is a real change of pace, with a top-hat heavy drumming and creepy guitar line that gives the whole song a paranoid or claustrophobic feel that is quite addictive.

What's even better than the greatness of Turning On is how so much more is along the way. A 12 inch, along with 3 other cassettes are all planned in the near future. I cannot wait for 2010!

(mp3) Cloud Nothings-Can't Stay Awake
(mp3) Cloud Nothings-Hey Cool Kids

Links:

Cloud Nothings Myspace
Buy Turning On on Cassette or CD Here, At Bridgetown Records.