The Daily Sabbatical

Cleveland’s Cloud Nothings have been getting a lot of press recently for their hook laden guitar pop, and deservedly so. Although they’re probably not going to change anyone’s idea of what music should be, they offer energetic little jewels that stay in your head long after they’ve left the speakers. The band is led by Cleveland’s Dylan Baldi, who at twenty (or just under) has internalized the key to the three minute pop song. His nasal voice and distorted guitar might invite some surface comparisons to pre-suck Green Day, but Baldi knows more than just three chords. The simple song structures allow for some pretty spastic and innovative jangles, and more than one genre gets layered into the mix. At moments it reminds one of Descendents if they were lead by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. (That looks odd to me too, but see if you can’t hear it.)

Thought Baldi is precocious, his age seems to show at times in the lyrics. They doesn’t really seem to be something he has much patience for and too often the songs end up in the repetition—sometimes ad nauseum—of a central line. It makes the band feel slightly unripe, but fair enough. Baldi will be around for a while with plenty of time to polish that stuff up. As it is, we have a record that makes for an excellent part of the spring soundtrack.

Understand It All by Cloud Nothings