Cloud Nothings are a indie-rock band and this is their fourth studio album, Life Without Sound. Now back in 2012 when they dropped their sophomore LP Attack on Memory, I was absolutely in love with this band. Thanks to some killer tracks and a sound that I'd thought long dead coming back in full force, I saw great potential in Cloud Nothings if they stayed on course and refined their sound a bit. However, the follow-up album was just okay and actually showed the band moving away from the sound I heard on AoM. And while this new LP doesn't bring back that sound either, I can at least appreciate this album for definitively stepping away from it, whereas I felt the last album was still trying to give off the same vibe as AoM.
Life Without Sound is an indie-rock record through and through, and I say that because it could have been released by just about any band in the late 90's to early 2000's under the indie umbrella. In fact, that proves to be the albums Achilles Heel. Because while I do love tracks like "Enter Entirely" and "Modern Act", I can't deny that they don't sound unique in the slightest. Whereas on AoM, I could acknowledge the influences, but still see where Cloud Nothings brought their side of things into the music. Track after track on this album I find myself nodding my head along, but by the time the album closes, I have a hard time remembering specific moments or tracks, aside from the two aforementioned cuts.
Also, while I do appreciate the cleaner production here, it also works as a two-edged sword. On one hand, it is easier to listen to than its predecessor, but on the other hand, any sort of grit or aggression has been mixed out entirely. Aside from some admittedly gruff vocal performances here and there. And while it may sound like I hate this record, the sad thing is that that would require me having some strong emotional reaction to it; when I really didn't. In the end, I find myself simply acknowledging this LP's existence and thinking to myself "Ehh, it's okay". I'm sad to say that yet another rock LP has me feeling luke-warm, but hopefully 2017 has more exciting rock LP's in its future.
5.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment