If the title of Cloud Nothings’ fourth studio album suggested the Cleveland indie rockers were dialling down the volume, then band linchpin Dylan Baldi was keen to go along with that: “This record is like my version of new age music,” he claimed in October. Turns out he was talking what is known in the trade as complete bilge. Because with its scuzzy feedback and crashing drums, Life Without Sound would be terrible in a salt-infusion aromatherapy steam bath. Instead, Baldi has bulked up the band’s lo-fi production values for a more muscular sound while retaining the youthful energy of his songwriting (Enter Entirely and Internal World bounce along with a Weezer-ish buoyancy). The chunky melodies that stomp over tracks such as Things Are Right With You demand the volume cranked up, not down, and – in the best possible sense – would be completely useless for meditation purposes.
