Album Of The Week: Cloud Nothings Attack On Memory

The first two volumes of Clevelander Dylan Baldi’s work as Cloud Nothings showcase a musician with a precocious knack for hooks, ping-ponged hooks laid onto a backdrop of Baldi’s sunny jangle with songs like Turning On’s “Hey Cool Kid” and Cloud Nothings’ “Should Have.” So, when word got out that Steve Albini was on board for Cloud Nothing’s third LP, Attack On Memory, a prognosticator’s imagination could only run wild with the possible implications of the marriage; the death of Cloud Nothings signature lo-fi vibe, the construction of a thundering low end (to this point, Cloud Nothings was Baldi’s bedroom project and not a full band), rougher textures as the rule and Baldi’s hooks pushed forward in the mix, vocals barbed and polished for maximum stickiness.