This summer will see the return of Cleveland indie rockers Cloud Nothings to Australia for a national tour in support of their latest studio album, 'Life Without Sound'.
Frontman and creator of Cloud Nothings, Dylan Baldi says he and the band are excited for what will be their first Australian shows since 2014.
“Going to Australia is one of the best parts of touring for us and I really like going down there,” Dylan says.
“Especially when it's winter here [in The States] and we go to Australia and it's scorching hot weather, I love it. We almost thought we weren't going to be able to go on this record, so it's exciting that we can.”
'Life Without Sound' is the fourth studio album from Cloud Nothings and represents the biggest development to date in the band's evolution from its lo-fi origins in Dylan's bedroom back in 2009.
The group expanded to a three-piece with drummer Jayson Gerycz and bassist TJ Duke and just last year added a second guitarist Chris Brown. “The sound has definitely gotten more full as things have gotten more fleshed-out with each record we do,” Dylan explains.
“We had two guitars on the 'Attack On Memory' [2012] record but then we ended up being a three-piece after that. Now we have two guitars again and things are very lush on the record. We didn't even intend for it to be this way but this album does sound the most-produced.”
The development of the band in the studio has overflowed into their live performances; Dylan says that with each show they play, the songs get closer and closer to how he intended for them to sound when he wrote them.
“When we play shows, especially lately, it seems like people know the songs now,” he says.
“For the first couple of months of touring we'd play a new song and people would be like 'meh', but at this point things have settled in and people have gotten used to it.
"We definitely got better at playing the songs live compared to how they are on the record; the way we play them now is kind of how I wanted the record to have sounded.”
With 'Life Without Sound' being released last January, the upcoming Australian tour will bring the current album cycle to a close.
Dylan says he is already thinking about the next phase for Cloud Nothings and that he wants to sustain the creative momentum they've gained on this album. “I'd love to make an album and have it out next year at some point,” he says.
“That's the goal because we did wait a long time between 'Life Without Sound' and the album before it 'Here & Nowhere Else' [2014]; we'd like to not do that again; I'd like to just keep things moving.
“Right now what I'm thinking is that I want to make a really long song; basically, a record that's just one, long thing. That's what's on my mind lately, and trying to see what I can perform with that.”
Cloud Nothings Tour Dates
Thu 22 Feb - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)Fri 23 Feb - Max Watts (Melbourne)
Sun 25 Feb - Badlands Bar (Perth)
Tue 27 Feb - The Zoo (Brisbane)
