tive recording sessions and frustrations mounted, and a year of recording stretched on, the longest time Baldi had ever spent making one record. (Here and Nowhere Else was written after slamming some bad coffee and writing songs the day before.) Finally he broke through, and Life Without Sound, the result, is the most contemplative Cloud Nothings album yet.
This time, instead of becoming faster or more volatile, they pump the brakes and smooth out some of their more coarse edges. Baldi was inspired by the chaotic, freeform improvisations of New York composer Malcolm Goldstein, and the album boasts an open-ended, impressionist feel that’s new for them. The quiet, almost mournful piano solo of “Up to the Surface” opens the album, and when Baldi’s …show more content…
The album regularly oscillates between calm and upheaval, and with Goodmanson’s help, Cloud Nothings ride valleys into peaks effortlessly.
Baldi’s vocals were the final element to be recorded on the album, and he delivers his most emotionally complex performance to date. There’s a bruised quality to his delivery on “Surface” and an assertive resolve when he sings about moving on (and looking back) on “Enter Entirely.” You can hear both confidence and fragility on “Modern Act.” He’s always been good, but the album provides the best showcase for Baldi’s voice yet.
The biggest knock against Life Without Sound is that it comes up short on hooks. Historically, the most powerful Cloud Nothings tracks bob and weave in search of new melodies, turning up new earworms to replace the ones from moments earlier. Look at “I’m Not Part of Me” (maybe their best song)—each new hook somehow manages to dunk on the one that came before until the chorus reaches a shout-along fever pitch. There are scattered examples of this songwriting on Life Without
This time, instead of becoming faster or more volatile, they pump the brakes and smooth out some of their more coarse edges. Baldi was inspired by the chaotic, freeform improvisations of New York composer Malcolm Goldstein, and the album boasts an open-ended, impressionist feel that’s new for them. The quiet, almost mournful piano solo of “Up to the Surface” opens the album, and when Baldi’s …show more content…
The album regularly oscillates between calm and upheaval, and with Goodmanson’s help, Cloud Nothings ride valleys into peaks effortlessly.
Baldi’s vocals were the final element to be recorded on the album, and he delivers his most emotionally complex performance to date. There’s a bruised quality to his delivery on “Surface” and an assertive resolve when he sings about moving on (and looking back) on “Enter Entirely.” You can hear both confidence and fragility on “Modern Act.” He’s always been good, but the album provides the best showcase for Baldi’s voice yet.
The biggest knock against Life Without Sound is that it comes up short on hooks. Historically, the most powerful Cloud Nothings tracks bob and weave in search of new melodies, turning up new earworms to replace the ones from moments earlier. Look at “I’m Not Part of Me” (maybe their best song)—each new hook somehow manages to dunk on the one that came before until the chorus reaches a shout-along fever pitch. There are scattered examples of this songwriting on Life Without