On the final leg of their UK tour, Cloud Nothings bring a sense of grunge and ska-esque punk that really set themselves out from such an oversaturated genre. Their balance of raw intensity and musical intricacy is fantastic and tonight’s show at The Haunt is one of the most intense and barbaric shows I’ve come across in a long while.

Kicking things off tonight are Nature Channel, a fresh faced Brighton trio who are more than prepared to set the thrashy tone for the evening. Their sound packs a great amount of punch for a three-piece and the vocals and screamed counterparts possess a tremendous amount of passion, all whilst playing some incredibly speedy guitar solos; a fantastic start to the evening. Up next is Cian Nugent, a singer-songwriter who places an extraordinary level of emphasis on precision melodies. Cian’s sound is simply sublime and whilst it may not exactly suit the stylings of the other acts tonight, it is a magnificent sound in itself. The depth behind his work is beautifully executed and even though his only tool is a simple acoustic, the created noise is so fulfilling, it feels like an entire orchestra is coming straight out from his six strings; a brilliant musician who is definitely worth checking out.

The room has filled well and the main act draws closer. From the offset, Cloud Nothings have no fear in bringing a sense of thunder in the form of ‘Up To The Surface’, the opening track from their new album, Life Without Sound. The energy from the track is released and the crowd gladly comply with a large level of applause for the grungy track. Vocalist Dylan Baldi’s tones project his American accent well, combining with the overall sound to create a complete product of traditional garage rock.

Cloud Nothing’s sound is certainly one that has undergone a vast amount of change across their discography, older tracks such as ‘Stay Useless’ make an early appearance in tonight’s set and receive a great level of response from the crowd. The track has a drastic contrast from the newer material, with a far more heavy emphasis on a deliberately unfurnished feel and usage of screamed vocals, which send the crowd into a blur of motion as a mosh pit begins to open up. The track is certainly a turning point in the show and other older classics such as ‘I’m Not Part Of Me’ emphasise the sea of bodies being flung about as individuals scramble over one another to the punky tones.

The biggest issue with tonight’s show is a lack of interaction with the audience. Being the final show of the tour before heading back to the States, I would have expected some gesture of thanks or simply any acknowledgement to the fact the audience are going crazy. Instead, each song is played immediately after the other with almost no speech in between, making the set feel somewhat rushed. Despite this, it is clear that the audience have had a fantastic time and an encore of ‘Realize My Fate’ allows for one final flurry of movement as even more crowd surfers fling their boots in the air during the track’s cataclysmic crescendo of sound.

There is a fantastic amount of talent in this band, they have perfected the art of catchy choruses and driven riffs that sends listeners into a spiral of energy. To create such passion within your music is a truly honourable trait for any band to achieve and Cloud Nothings’ unique style of songwriting clearly shows they are very much at the top of their game. Dylan’s raw vocals are an example of grunge music at its finest, inflicting the poignant sense of youth and anarchy that many will relate and fall in love with. Whilst it may be a while until Cloud Nothings return to the UK, many, myself included, will be long anticipating it and are already prepping for another night of quality grunge.
Ben Walker

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