“Final Summer” – Cloud Nothings

Album: Final Summer

Artist: Cloud Nothings

Year: 2024

Genre: Indie Rock

Grade: A-

I’ve always had a soft spot for Cleveland indie rockers Cloud Nothings. In fact, I thought they were going to be the next big thing after they released Attack on Memory in 2012: equal parts noisy and melodic, equally indebted to post-hardcore and Pavement, a guitar-based rock band with pop and progressive ambition at a time when such things were becoming increasingly rare. And although Cloud Nothings has never topped that early-career benchmark, they’ve never released a bad album. Not to mention their sheer prolificacy — seven straight releases that are B+ or better, in only 12 years, is nothing to scoff at.

Final Summer is perhaps the band’s best work since Here and Nowhere Else in 2014. On this breezy 10-song, 30-minute collection, Cloud Nothings are at their most melodic. Every track is filled with anthemic choruses and tuneful hooks and modal guitar solos that balance harmony and distortion. In the classical definition of the word, this is the most abundantly ‘indie‘ that the band has ever been: a scruffy yet spirited sound that pays homage to classic 1990s acts like Built to Spill, Superchunk and Stephen Malkmus.

For a comparison closer to home, Final Summer calls to mind that glorious opening minute of “Psychic Trauma” or the sweet sounds of “Stay Useless.” The songs are short, the structures are anthemic and the riffs bristle with sweet lo-fi fuzz. It’s the complete antithesis of Last Building Burning — this is Cloud Nothings at their most uplifting.

Then again, the post-hardcore influences aren’t eschewed completely: the guitars still form an abrasive wall of sound, and talented drummer Jayson Gerycz still thrashes underneath it all, supplying a propulsive rhythm that never slows down. This is indie rock with an edge, with Dylan Baldi’s soulful vocals perfectly offset by the thunderous music, and vice versa.

All in all, Final Summer isn’t exactly a return to form — Cloud Nothings never lost their form to begin with — but the album is a welcome digression: an angsty snapshot of good vibes, a sunny day record made for beer-drinkin’ and recognizing that things as they are won’t be that way forever.

NOTES & CHORDS

• The opening title track begins with one minute of whirring synthesizer, which is new territory for Cloud Nothings. We even get a synth solo toward the end. Great tune to begin the album.

• The rest of the album relies on a more traditional guitar sound, with plenty of overdrive and nuanced imperfection. In fact, Final Summer probably features Dylan Baldi’s best guitar solos yet. His performance is a notable highlight.

• One reason Cloud Nothings has been able to be so prolific and consistent over their career is the short album length. They specialize in quick bursts of brash energy, and Final Summer is no different. Despite the short runtime, their albums are focused and fulfilling and never feel unfinished.

• Even though there are no true standout songs (i.e., something on par with “Wasted Days,” “Enter Entirely” or “I’m Not Part of Me,” a tune that could be considered the band’s best), I’d wager this is the third-best Cloud Nothings album. Final Summer is behind Attack on Memory and Here and Nowhere Else, but it edges out Life Without Sound.

---