Clouds
We Are Above You
(Hydra Head)
****
Clouds second album, We Are Above You (I laughed), grabs everything each "heavy" band has pioneered and/or ripped off and blends it all together with raspberries and ice and hardcore and other genres mentioned on the cover sticker. Licks, yes. Breakneck drumming, on occasion. Howls and hollers in abundance. Gut-stompers, tambourines, sing-alongs and power chords. It's a lot like Legendary Demo, in that both are scrubbed with swamp water production -- the guitars sound rusted --through thanks to the multiple distortion and phaser pedals, and there are shades of sloppiness, or rather, a live feel, because the rhythm section is taut as a tripwire, but the songs are still loose and ready for rockin' the fuck out. The solos aren't technically mind-blowing; they're fun, but they're still a blast -- you can tell these guys are shredding for the pure joy of it rather than to impress anyone.
(((Read Full review here!)))
Clouds w/ Torche and Boris!
Jul 2 2008 Common Grounds Gainesville, Florida
Jul 3 2008 the Social Orlando, Florida
Jul 5 2008 the Earl Atlanta, Georgia
Jul 6 2008 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina
Jul 8 2008 Black Cat Washington DC, Washington DC
Jul 9 2008 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 10 2008 Webster Hall New York, New York
Jul 11 2008 Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, Massachusetts
www.myspace.com/cloudsrock
