It’s been a crazy year for Cloud Nothings since they burst onto the music scene last winter. At the time main man Dylan Baldi was eighteen, living at home, and making lo-fi indie rock on a crappy computer in his parent’s suburban basement outside Cleveland. Since then, Cloud Nothings has released an EP and a handful of singles, and the band has put a few North American tours under its belt. With all the internet notoriety and their recent signing with Carpark, Cloud Nothings are now able to record somewhere besides the basement. For a producer, Dylan chose Baltimore’s Chester Gwazda, known for his work with Dan Deacon and Future Islands. Recorded this past August in a warehouse studio in Baltimore’s famed Copycat Building (home to the original Wham City and many of the city’s best musicians and artists), the self-titled Cloud Nothings album shines through with a crispness and boldness that Dylan has always envisioned. The songs now sound as they do live: full of energy, precision, and catchy bits. Dylan plays all the instruments on the album, but this time without the lo-fi scuzz. The excitement and emotion are practically jumping off the grooves.
Dylan needed to take his songs on the road, so he formed a band with TJ Duke on bass, Jayson Gerycz on drums, and Joe Boyer on guitar. Their first show was in New York last December opening for Real Estate and Woods. Since then the band has played SXSW, toured with Wavves, and played shows with such bands as Titus Andronicus, Parts & Labor, Best Coast, and Kurt Vile. Their live shows have become super tight, displaying an intensity and precision rarely seen in bands of any age.