Nobody can make a whine sound the way Dylan Baldi does.
Across four albums as Cloud Nothings, the Cleveland-based songwriter has turned bugbears into earworms for the slightly downtrodden and otherwise inconvenienced. His discomforts actually proved so relatable that eventually he branched out and formed a full band that helped Baldi produce his best, most accessible albums. And while those albums brought Baldi a fair bit of recognition and acclaim, he’s still got something stuck in his craw on the new track “Modern Act.”
“I want a life, that’s all I need lately,” Baldi sings on the first taste of Cloud Nothings’ new album Life Without Sound. “I am alive but all alone.”
The track is just as catchy and bright as all Cloud Nothing releases, with just a tiny bit more studio sheen to denote the passing of time. “Act” doesn’t contain a gut punch like the hooks of “Wasted Days” or “Stay Useless,” but there’s nothing here that indicates Baldi’s lost his sense of discontent.
“Generally, it seems like my work has been about finding my place in the world,” Baldi told Rolling Stone. “But there was a point in which I realized that you can be missing something important in your life, a part you didn’t realize you were missing until it’s there — hence the title.”
Here’s the artwork and full tracklist:
1. “Up To The Surface”
2. “Things Are Right With You”
3. “Internal World”
4. “Darkened Rings”
5. “Enter Entirely”
6. “Modern Act”
7. “Sight Unseen”
8. “Strange Year”
9. “Realize My Fate”
Life Without Sound is out on January 27 via Carpark Records. Pre-order it here.
