Cloud Nothings – Last Building Burning
Last Building Burning is an energetic riot that, though it tries, fails to leave a mark
Cloud Nothings’ new album Last Building Burning is an interesting listen. The whole album lasts about half an hour and keeps a frantic pace and high energy throughout, occasionally foraying into catchy shouting choruses. The biggest change comes in the last few minutes of Dissolution as it dips into musical chaos with screeching feedback and improvised drum fills. It’s the kind of album that would be perfect for the vehicular mayhem of Grand Theft Auto. While that sounds like high praise, it’s also criticism. Last Building Burning is background music that has a soap-slick grip on our attention.
Leave Him Now is a definite highlight here, holding our attention with its off-kilter vocals and well put together drum and harmonic fills. Dissolution, after dropping into its own strange world of drum fills, distortion and short, muted solos, is another which stands out. But, after album closer Another Way of Life ends, we’re left with sadly no lasting impression beyond Leave Him Now's chorus which is deemed worthy enough to put into the long-term memory banks.
The album's accompanying press release proudly calls Last Building Burning "the perfect antidote to 2017’s Life Without Sound,” but sadly this antidote has the unfortunate side effect of fatigue.
Listen to: Leave Him Now, Dissolution