Words by Jonathan Stout
Cloud Nothings returned last month with Final Summer on Pure Noise, an exciting album that distills the band’s refined melodic bombast and delivers one of their most accessible song collections to date. For a band who have remained remarkably consistent, Final Summer particularly hits hard on all of the touchstones that make the band great. From emotive and thought provoking lyrics, to melodic hooks and intricate drumming, all often at a furiously speeding pace- Final Summer is the kind of record that gives fans everything they could ask for while also providing another great entry point for new listeners.
Off Shelf: What brought you to Jeff Zeigler [Kurt Vile, The War On Drugs, Torres, Purling Hiss] for the recording of Final Summer?
Dylan Baldi: I live in Philadelphia and was looking for someone local. Jeff has a good rep around town as a recording guy and his rates are affordable. What more can you ask for? He’s a talented, nice guy and I really like the guitar sounds we got with him.
OS: How did the experience of recording with Zeigler differ from your experiences with Steve Albini?
DB: With Steve, we always play everything together as a band and use those recordings as the album. With Jeff, we did our parts individually and just recorded on top of each other without ever playing the songs together live. That wasn’t really Jeff or Steve’s idea, but it’s definitely the biggest difference between recording processes. I’m just starting to enjoy making lots of layers of guitars lately.
OS: Although this album captures many of the aspects of what you all do well, it seems to follow the slight return to power pop sensibilities, which were also explored on The Shadow I Remember. Is it ever a conscious decision to make a hookier album rather than say, a heavier album like Last Building Burning, or do you simply follow the direction of your internal muse and see where it lands?
DB: I just record myself playing guitar for a few hours and end up with material to work with. I’ve always done it like that, but the tone changes depending on the mood I’m in or what I’ve been listening to, I guess. Eventually there’s enough songs that have a similar tone that seem like they could make a cool record together. That’s about as much thought as I put into this kind of thing.
OS: What does your songwriting process usually look like? Do you write everything and have the other band members fill it out, or are the songs composed as a band? Do you compose music before the lyrics or are the music and lyrics created simultaneously?
DB: I make the songs myself as little demos, and then we flesh them out as a band if we have time. Lately it’s been pretty close to the demos. Lyrics are always second. Writing music is a nice mental exercise, hard but fun. Writing lyrics is hard and not fun.
OS: There are some very interesting moments on the album that show the band stretching out a bit- in particular, the intro to the opening title track, “Final Summer”, features an ominously swirling cosmic synth. Have you ever considered flipping the script to create an album in a different genre style? If you did, what do you think would be the most feasible aspects of another genre that you could integrate into your sound?
DB: We’re all decent musicians, we could probably do a passable version of whatever we want. But we sort of already do. Chris and Jayson both have other bands – Jayson is in Knowso, Yeti Scalp, Swisher, and some others. Chris is in Disintegration. I do free jazz stuff sometimes and play sax on other people’s records. It’s nice to have different outlets for different sounds, not everything has to be combined into one crazy project.
OS: Your previous album, The Shadow I Remember, was composed and released during the pandemic. However, the shadow of the pandemic still looms on us all, and therefore echoes within many of these songs. One of my favorite tracks, Silence, portrays the divide we currently face in our country – members of both sides of the political spectrum, completely struggling to understand one another. How do you think our country will achieve unity again, or would you argue that we were never unified and the pandemic just brought everything to light?
DB: Well, I don’t really know how to answer that, but Silence is more explicitly inspired by Supreme Court Justice Alito citing Matthew Hale, a man who sentenced “witches” to death in the 17th century, in his draft overturning Roe v. Wade. I definitely don’t want unity with someone who thinks like that.
OS: I also wanted to ask you about nostalgia: on Silence you sing the line “Is there a time you want to be alive in more than your own?” Correct me if I’m wrong, but this seems to be referring to conservatives who felt disenchanted by the progressive aspects of Obama’s presidency who were then empowered by Trump’s extremism and a growing fondness for Reaganism. How do you regard nostalgia? Is it a positive or negative?
DB: I made an album called Attack on Memory that had a song on it about hating nostalgia. My stance has softened since then, mainly because I actually have things to be nostalgic about. I don’t think weaponizing nostalgia is a sane or rational thing to do, but I think looking back on your life and having nice memories is pretty cool.
OS: The album’s lyrical subject matter overall deals with the need for mindfulness and the strength to continue in the face of adversity. When many feel like the world is ending every time the news is opened, what’s your main message of perseverance? How do you maintain positivity under the current conditions?
DB: I keep myself sane by making songs. It’s smart to find a little thing you can do that keeps you from feeling bad.
OS: Beyond the new album, what can fans expect from Cloud Nothings for the rest of the year and into 2025? Any big plans?
DB: We will continue to make more records and go on more tours. Thank you for sticking with us, and thank you for this interview.