“I was just bored so I would skip class, record a song, and put it on the internet because I had nothing else to do.”
This is how Cleveland-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Dylan Baldi describes the beginnings of his band, Cloud Nothings.
Starting as just a ‘fake’ MySpace band formed by a bored teenager, Cloud Nothings now have three releases under their belt, have been on huge international tours- including a recent support slot with Silversun Pickups – and have a critically acclaimed third album, Attack On Memory, on their CV.
Despite the attention that has been thrown on the band, the young Baldi still seems remarkably laid back and seemingly unaffected by the buzz that is swirling around them.
“It’s cool, it’s not something I planned on doing when I was in high school,” Baldi explains simply. “Being from Cleveland, you’re always kind of thinking you’re never really as good as people are saying you are.”
Cloud Nothings will be visiting Australian shores for the first time early next year for St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, something that Baldi says he is “very excited” about.
“I have friends that have played it in the past and they’ve said it was amazing, so I’m excited,” Baldi says. “It’s our first time, we’ve never been before.” “We’ll only play the new record. I think playing a lot of the old songs would sound shitty,”
The 20-year-old explains that the band now chooses to focus nearly exclusively on their latest LP at live shows, saying that they’ll “just keep to playing all the new stuff”, as well as some newer, unreleased songs. “We’ll only play the new record. I think playing a lot of the old songs would sound shitty,” he says bluntly. “We’ll play most of Attack On Memory and a lot of the new stuff.”
The band’s third album was released locally in January this year, and marked a distinct new direction for the Cleveland natives. Gone were the breezy, lo-fi pop sounds of previous records, replaced with the more aggressive, darker, and heavier sound, what Baldi calls a “natural progression” of sorts, while also a deliberate decision to move away from sounds of his past
“I just wanted to try and do a different sort of thing with every song,” Baldi explains, “and on Attack On Memory it sort of just happened that what I felt like doing was way different to the past stuff.”
The process of writing and recording the album saw Cloud Nothings transform from Baldi’s solitary solo project into a fully fledged band – including members Joe Boyer, TJ Duke, and Jayson Gerycz – a process that was initially difficult to adapt to.
“It was hard until I actually did it, then it sounded good immediately,” he describes. “I wasn’t worried after that point, and it’s just friends of mine in the band so to be worried about what your friends are doing would be kind of weird.”
The induction of three new band members had a strong effect on the new, louder sound for Cloud Nothings, after Baldi played every instrument on his previous two albums.
“On the new record I play just my parts,” Baldi explains. “I still wrote the songs, but I would bring it to the band and they would add their own things to it, which immediately made it a much different record just because everybody else in the band plays differently to me and has different ideas. It’s more collaborative in that sense, and it definitely produces music that I would have never made on my own.“People can say whatever they want. If someone called my record a grunge record it doesn’t really affect me anyway…”
Attack On Memory has proved to be a reviewer’s nightmare, with many varying and conflicting views attached to it. However, but Baldi seems to be unfazed by these differing descriptions.
“I don’t mind, people can say whatever they want. If someone called my record a grunge record it doesn’t really affect me anyway. I wouldn’t say that necessarily, but it’s alright. I would just call it a rock record.”
The new sound was also heavily influenced by Baldi’s newfound obsession with 70s punk band Wipers, who he describes as “easily [his] favourite band of all time.”
“I was listening to them just non-stop basically while I was making this record. So they’re probably the biggest influence on it.”
The change in sound was so drastic that Baldi at one point considered releasing the music under a different moniker. “We were even thinking about changing the name for a minute,” he reveals. “I ended up not doing that cause it’s still my songs, and it’s still the same guys that have been in the band the whole time… it’s definitely not the same band as it was, and it’s definitely a whole different style we’re doing now.”
As well as more diverse and abrasive instrumentation, the album also features significantly darker and expansive lyrics, something that Baldi says stemmed from previous years of struggling with music while dropping out of college. “I think it’s more of a ‘life in general’ album, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, there’s probably going to be some shit going down.”
“Up until that point the band wasn’t necessarily doing great. I had dropped out of college to do it so it was kind of an all or nothing thing. I couldn’t go back to college, I didn’t have the money or anything,” Baldi says regarding the period before the release of his third album. “I was just worried about the state of my life at that point, I didn’t know if things would work out I guess, so that’s how the record came about. Most of it is just internalized musings.”
A will to pursue a career in music led Baldi to drop out of his first semester of studying saxophone performance at college, something also motivated by a general disdain for his university experience. “I just hated school and I hated all the people and teachers,” saying that he left to “try and meet new people that were more into what [he] was doing.”
It’s probably safe to say that things have worked out for Cloud Nothings now, with Attack On Memory generating huge buzz and critical acclaim, including the important tick of approval from Pitchfork (the album was the first to receive Best New Music status in 2012). “I’m pretty happy with it now,” Baldi states. “We’re actually doing okay, it’s cool.”“We have a bunch of new songs, and we’re hoping to put out a new record next year… but it’s definitely not ‘Attack On Memory 2’.”
Attack On Memory saw the Cleveland band collaborate with renowned producer Steve Albini, the man behind records by such acts as Nirvana, Pixies, and PJ Harvey.
“Steve’s great,” Baldi says, “he doesn’t really get in the way at all. I’d never made a record with another producer before so I was kind of worried he would be telling us what to do and how it should sound, but that just isn’t his style.”
Albini’s level of participation, and general stand-off attitude, has generated some controversy, especially regarding comments the band made about the producer’s obsession with online Scrabble during recording. However, according to Baldi, the “Scrabble matter” has been severely exaggerated and “overblown” throughout the media.
“He did it [played Scrabble] when he needed to not listen to music for a bit, so he didn’t burn-out,” he defends. “It was just a joke when I said it but people took it very seriously,” he explains. “He stayed out of the way and let us do what we wanted to and he has the knowledge to make it sound really good.”
While the band is still touring their latest album, the follow-up is already in the work, and fans should prepare themselves for another drastic shift in direction.
“We have a bunch of new songs, and we’re hoping to put out a new record next year,” Baldi says enthusiastically. “It’s definitely different. I don’t think necessarily it’s quite the leap that the new album was, but it’s definitely not ‘Attack On Memory 2’.”
The future seems bright for the talented young man, and as he explains, he’s finally doing what he loves and plans to continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
“I don’t think about it right now necessarily, but I’m sure in twenty years I’ll be like ‘wow’ that was weird, the way I spent a couple of years of my life doing that,” he says. “For now I’m just having a really great time”.
Attack On Memory is out now through Carpark Records. Cloud Nothings play Laneway Festival this February, details here, and limited tickets are still available for their Melbourne and Sydney sideshows. See below for ticketing details.
Cloud Nothings 2013 Australian Tour
Tuesday 5 February – Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne.
Presented by Tone Deaf.
With Special Guests Violent Soho.
Tickets via Oztix.
Wednesday 6 February – The Annandale, Sydney.
Presented by Tone Deaf.
With Special Guests Violent Soho.
Tickets via Oztix.
