Last month, critically neglected and frequently overlooked indie rock underdogs Cloud Nothings released its first full-length, solo LP since 2014. Despite a 7-inch split in 2015 with the beach-goth icon that is Wavves, Cloud Nothings are still predominantly overshadowed in the indie scene and after the somewhat lackluster results of its prior album, it’s no surprise that “Life Without Sound” released somewhat quietly.
To be frank, this is nothing short of a tragedy. “Life Without Sound” isn’t just an incredible Cloud Nothings album; it’s an indie rock bombshell. Few bands can combine garage rock and beach goth sentiments to make incredibly catchy and personal tunes the way that Cloud Nothings can. They’re the type of group that can appeal to just about any kind of indie fanatic, with sufficiently complex songwriting so as not to be boring, but not so experimental as to isolate a more mainstream audience. Cloud Nothings has all of the potential of pop rock without the clichés of pop rock or the generic sound. It has its own distinct sound that can be picked out from a mile away and it’s created without too complex of a technical or structural setup.
Nowhere is that sound clearer than on “Life Without Sound.” This album stands out in clear contrast with the band’s 2014 attempt, “Here and Nowhere Else,” which featured only two songs that really immediately stood out. This is not the case in this album; “Life Without Sound” features an incredible selection of tracks, all of which are memorable immediately in their own unique ways. The variety on the album is also to be praised, towing the fine line between inconsistency and homogeny without straying too far in either direction. The album feels like one connected work, while the songs retain their individual identities and can be enjoyed on their own.
To describe the sound on this album, it’s important to note that as is the trend with most bands that start out in the lo-fi genre, Cloud Nothings has gotten progressively cleaner in sound with each album, dialing down the distortion bit by bit and cleaning up the chord structure to result in a more precise sound. “Life Without Sound” is Cloud Nothings’ cleanest album yet, but manages to firmly retain the vibe and general aesthetic or prior albums.
As with most ongoing lo-fi groups, Cloud Nothings hasn’t betrayed its old sound and genre, but rather adapted it to form its own unique identity. While its first album, “Turning On,” was a great work of lo-fi garage rock and featured several memorable tracks, it wasn’t nearly as distinct in sound within the indie scene. “Life Without Sound” takes the distortion that previously defined the band adapts it to the identity that the group has defined for itself.
As always, Cloud Nothings’ strength is in the catchiness and understandability of its songs and not necessarily for the complexity of them. It’s a sound that achieves a lot with a little; specifically, a basic drum kit, a few guitars, one singer and some well utilized power chords. The band takes these elements and combines them with its unique rhythmic catalogue, creating a work of brilliance that stands out from many other bands attempting the same feat. “Life Without Sound” should appeal to most indie rock fans, but is particularly recommended to fans of bands like Wavves, Smith Westerns and Yuck.
