Cloud Nothings is an American indie rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States, founded by singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi.
Baldi has cited numerous bands and artists as influences, including Wipers,[4][5] the Lemonheads,[6] the Forms, Life Without Buildings, Women, No Age, Deerhunter,[7] Black Sabbath, Nina Hagen, Killdozer, Zounds, Thin Lizzy, Swell Maps.
"[10] Cloud Nothings' music caught the attention of Kevin Greenspan at Bridgetown Records who offered to release the eight song EP Turning On featuring the single "Hey Cool Kid".
Following American and European tours Baldi worked with producer Chester Gwazda in his Baltimore studio and released Cloud Nothings in January 2011.
"[13] Under the Radar's Frank Valish wrote "Baldi's songs somehow manage to mix punk rock energy with pure pop tunefulness".
Mischa Pearlman of Alternative Press awarded the album 4 stars describing the music as "upbeat rock 'n' roll, full of joyous reckless abandon and youthful exuberance".
2 on the CMJ Radio charts and was favorably reviewed in a wide variety of music publications including Rolling Stone (3 1/2 stars) and Spin (8/10).
[19] Upon its release Uncut rates it 8/10 and praises it as "thrilling... Baldi successfully develops his own take on the merger of power pop and hardcore brawn...without sacrificing any of his irrepressible energy, or his enviable knack for hooks".
Alternative Press (AP) awards it 4 1/2 stars and writes, "they sound bolder than ever, achieving a new peak...rife with memorable hooks and earworms – and the substance to make them meaningful".
Guitarist, Chris Brown (Total Babes) joined the band as Cloud Nothings toured America, Europe and Asia (Japan, China, Singapore) over the first half of 2017.
The Line of Best Fit rated the album 9/10, saying "Baldi and his conspirators have created something fantastic here – easily matching the scope and ambition of artists across the musical spectrum.
"[21] The band completed a 2018 to 2019 world tour of North and South America, Asia and Europe including an appearance at the Bol Festival in Moscow.
About a month into quarantine, Dylan Baldi and Jayson Gerycz started sending files back and forth, with guitars, bass and vocals recorded in Philadelphia while drums and mixing happened in Cleveland.
Consequence of Sound wrote "The Shadow I Remember sees Cloud Nothings reunite with celebrated producer Steve Albini of Electrical Audio almost a decade after they had previously collaborated on their album Attack on Memory.
[26] Pitchfork rated it 7.2 and exclaimed "As the Cleveland band returns to Electrical Audio at full force, they retain their penchant for rueful concision and world-weary chronicles of pandemic existence.
The band returned to live performances with a show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on July 19 followed by an autumn tour of the U.S. including an appearance at the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.
They marked the tenth anniversary of their landmark album Attack on Memory with a fall tour of the east and west coasts and a limited edition sky blue vinyl reissue (January 20, 2023) which includes two unreleased songs from the Steve Albini produced sessions.
[29] Prior to their Riot Fest performance and the Attack on Memory tour, bassist TJ Duke left the band and was replaced by Noah Depew.
[32] Pitchfork awarded the album a 7.5 and exclaimed "With spruced-up production highlighting new subtleties in their sound, yet never abandoning their melodic fundamentals, the Cleveland indie rockers’ latest radiates a renewed sense of purpose."
The band's energy level never slackens throughout Final Summer, and the entirety of the record's half-hour run time sounds massive, even at its most deceptively simple.
But in moments like 'I'd Get Along,' a towering anthem in which Baldi wrings every last ounce of power from only two lines, Cloud Nothings reveal how much artistic growth they've undergone.