Here And Nowhere Else

Cloud Nothings new LP, the follow up to 2012's excellent Attack on Memory, was recorded in Hoboken, N.J., with producer John Congleton (who also worked on the new Swans record).

According to a press release, it's more "refined" and "subtle." Dylan Baldi says the record is more positive: "I was feeling pretty good about everything so I just made stuff that made me happy. I had nothing to be angry about really so the approach was more positive and less 'fuck everything.'"

There's a lot to like about Here And Nowhere Else, the new Cloud Nothings album: The snot-punk hooks, the scraped-out guitar textures, the overwhelming refusal to acknowledge any musical influences from anytime after, say, 1997. But those drums are the best thing about Here And Nowhere Else.

Cloud Nothings drummer Jason Gerycz hits his drums like they just reminded him of everything that's happened to every Cleveland professional sports team in the last 50 years, and he does it with serious speed and timing, at an absolutely relentless pace. The songs are good on their own, but Gerycz's playing effectively straps a rocket to them. And as strong as the songs might be, I can't think of a great rock album since Songs For The Deaf that would suffer this much if you took away the drummer and replaced him with some technically proficient schlub from the back of a Guitar Center.