Review: Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory

Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory (2012, Carpark)

Spotify

By Alex 

On Attack on Memory, Cloud Nothings has a whole new sound. Literally. What started out as Dylan Baldi’s solo project grew into a full on band, and the result is an amazing punk album. Whereas 2010’s S/T album hints at greatness, it’s sometimes too thoughtful for it’s own good, which could be because Baldi was on his own creating it. Meanwhile, Attack on Memory seems to be something that got recorded without much thought immediately after having written the songs. The abrasive guitars, the speed of the drumming, its sound is basically the definition of the word immediacy.

This is especially clear on tracks “Fall In” (which reminds me a lot of The Replacements’ “Color Me Impressed”) and “Separation”, a song that more than makes up its lack of lyrics with speed. Which leads me to the fact that there is not one song on the album where the band seems to “take a breath” so to speak. Not even during the drone of “No Future/No Past” does anything seem peaceful. The drums are impatiently keeping time, waiting for the speed to pick up. The guitar seems bored, replacing fast playing with hard strums. After this track, Cloud Nothings jumps into “Wasted Days”, the longest track on the album, and also one of the strongest. Lyrically it’s the one that’s going to unite older fans who dig the band for its 80s and 90s influenced sound, and younger audiences who are no doubt going to scribble the lines “Feeling sick/But I don’t know why/Getting tired/Of living till I die” all over their history class notes. Speaking of youthful angst, “Stay Useless” is a track filled with it, and I don’t mean that as a bad thing. Baldi’s lyrics have a way of capturing this kind of angst without the pitfalls of “woe is me” tediousness. 

In “No Sentiment”, Baldi sings, “No nostalgia/No sentiment”. Although decidedly anti-nostalgia you can’t ignore the fact that this track sounds like something that could have been penned by the Sex Pistols (if they knew more than 3 chords). On an album that has songs that seem focused on an “us against the world” mentality, the last track is the most vulnerable, as it shifts to questioning an ex or cheating partner, about “him”. On “Cut You” Baldi sings, “I miss you ‘cause I like damage/I need something I can hurt”, and it’s painfully surprising to listen to him sing about two people who obviously bring out the worst in each other. As an album closer, it’s a little off compared to the rest of the songs, but it is also what makes it the best track. It’s vulnerable without compromising the band’s new sound, and the harmonies still make you wish you were in a crowded venue, sweating along to every song. Attack on Memory does what every great album needs to do: it leaves you wanting more even after the last song fades out. 

9/10 

Songs I Starred On Spotify: 

• Wasted Days
• Fall In
• Stay Useless
• No Sentiment
• Our Plans
• Cut You