Cloud Nothings - Modern Act

Addressing new album ‘Life Without Sound’, Cloud Nothings’ Dylan Baldi says he’s always played the band’s records on his car stereo, and this one sounds best. Baldi’s method is a simple but worthwhile litmus test, especially when judging records designed to lift you up from drudgery, their momentum being the wind in your sails. Cloud Nothings have always excelled in that regard, but ‘Modern Act’ is the most life-affirming they’ve ever sounded.

That’s partly down to the track’s positive reinforcements (“Do you know what it’s like / To be out and alive? To say you’re doing alright / Yeah, you’re doing just fine” goes the chorus). But subtle tweaks also play a part, like how Baldi’s vocal injects tiny quirks and an extra dose of character, or how Jayson Gerycz’s drum parts sound like they could burst from the seams (or our the car speaker system). It’s getting tiring to simply say Cloud Nothings have stepped things up a gear, because they’ve been doing it time and time again. But rarely does that kind of progression feel so tangible.