Cloud Control This Is What I Said

Albums can take you by surprise. I'm sure you know that -- after all, you're hunting for new music, right? Well that's what Cloud Control did for me. I think I dismissed their album on first listen. I didn't even get through two tracks. As such I have no alternative but to believe that I must have been in the wrong setting, because this is actually a rather good album when you give it some attention. I've even mentioned that to a few friends, and to my surprise they've all gone, "Oh wow, Cloud Control has a new album?" And you might have the same reaction as I did: who the hell are Cloud Control? You mean you've heard of them before? Well I certainly hadn't. For starters, they're a pack of Aussies who debuted with an EP in 2007 -- the song "Death Cloud" leading their way. Secondly, well, I'll let the reviewer below cover the rest:

Bliss Release is an accurate way to describe the emotions evoked by repeated listening"”just play "This Is What I Said," which is prime single material, something that could easily end up on one of those Urban Outfitters digital playlists. Everything about the track, from the bouncy major key to the blissful, serotonin-laden falsetto of the chorus, to buoyant lyrics like, "Soul/is what I got/I know it's not much."

And yet the sneaky, insidious darkness that materializes near the end of the album cannot be denied, because it's what makes the album far more substantial than most other folk-pop sing-a-longs. Take, for example, "Hollow Drums," near the end of the sequence. Probably the sparest of the tunes here, it starts with finger-picked guitar and only Wright's voice, then Lenffer's vocals arrive and the atmosphere changes from austere to downright haunted. There's something about the creepy ghost story imagery and the harmonized oohs, something almost imperceptibly spine-chilling.

So consider Bliss Release a wise investment: the songs are catchy and fun, but it's the underlying sentiments"”fear, foreboding, and eventual contentment"”that pay off in the end. Cloud Control have done something impressive here"”let's hope they keep churning out music with this much substance. - In Your Speakers