HYLI Vol. LII - Cloud Nothings and Dead in the Dirt
Patrick sends Andy some 2010s noise-rock-pop stuff and Andy sends Patrick some Atlanta grindcore
Yet another week of Andy being a piece of shit and not writing the intro. He is just here so he doesn’t get fined. This weekend I watched five movies because the Virtual Sundance screenings. Two were quite good (Theater Camp & Fair Play), two were fine (Cat Person and Short Comings), and one was kinda bad (Run Rabbit Run). I love doing those, it’s sick that Sundance started letting normies watch the flicks at home instead of taking out a second mortgage to fly to Park City in January for three days. Some good music came out. I’m like a week behind but I’m loving the new Margo Price record. She rocks so much. Saw her play some of the new tracks live about two months ago and, yeah man, highly rec. Hope You Like It.
Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
Patrick: Around the time of Cloud Nothings popping up, it seemed like every band had this little vibe of being extremely noisy but kinda poppy rock songs. See: Japandroids, the Men, No Age, etc. etc. Cloud Nothings have always been my favorite of these bands. The perfect mix of the abrasiveness of the heavier Nirvana songs and the poppier aspects of the … uhh … softer Nirvana songs lol. They basically remind me of Nirvana, a good (great, even) band (Andy: seems like an extremely high bar you just set).
I love hearing Dylan Baldi’s voice. It just gets me, man. Just an immediate “hell yeah, brother.” I love how it can be completely deranged like on something like “No Future/No Past” but also deliver an extremely sugary hook like on “Stay Useless.” The riffs on those tracks are huge too. But the best part of this band is pretty indisputably the drumming of Jayson Gerycz. Just an absolute lunatic behind the kit. A song like “Wasted Days” would be cool under normal circumstances, but is absolutely incredible with the drums Gerycz lays down. The little extended fill around 6:30 minutes into that track? Absurd. This seems extremely up my friend Andy’s alley and I wanted to give him a nice one because I’m a good friend. Hope You Like It.
Andy: Pat really does a disservice to you, my beloved reader, by comparing Cloud Nothings to Nirvana. They are not Nirvana and that isn’t really even a fair comparison because they’re good in their own way. Nirvana is great and better than Cloud Nothings (Patrick: imagine reading what i wrote and thinking the takeaway is that cloud nothings is better than nirvana lol).
Anyway, now that I got to be mean to Pat (Patrick: idiot), I can tell you that I really enjoyed Attack on Memory. It rules. It is a great contrast to my pick this week. I love the bratty, whining vocals man. I did not on first listen but they really grew on me. “Wasted Days” is fun as heck, probably my favorite on the album. “Separation” is a blast. “No Sentiment” is *insert a unique and interesting way to say good song* (Patrick: i’m begging you to care about writing in regards to our newsletter that you write). They take a little chill pill with tracks like “Cut You” but overall they’re rocking pretty hard the entire runtime.
What genre is this? The internet doesn’t really seem to know. I guess I don’t really care. Actually, who gives a shit. Please file this under “It Rocks” and let’s all move on with our lives.
This album art sucks (Patrick: doesn’t matter!). Put on some glasses. I Liked It Very Much.
Dead in the Dirt - The Blind Hole
Andy: Hey! It’s everyone’s favorite Atlanta, Georgia-based vegan straightedge grindcore band Dead in the Dirt! This is one of my favorite grindcore/power violence records that I listen to for like a month straight and then forget about for a few years. Sick ass album art (Patrick: it’s ok). Just an endless hole. The Blind Hole is full of short (the longest song here is 3 minutes and most clock in at under a minute), yet memorable songs, fast tunes, and catchy riffs with some slow sludgy breaks. Vocals are violent and desperate (Patrick: ?). The best kind. Just oozes anger. I love feedback, man. Every band should have one guy whose job is to do whatever it is that makes sick-ass feedback and nothing else (Patrick: so true). This entire album is just pissed off. What more could you want? Nothing. It is perfect.
I’m keeping this short in honor of the boys. Wish I could see them live but like all good things in life, they’re broken up/on hiatus/not making more great shit so whatever. Hope Pat Likes It, Hope You Like It Also.
Pat: I’m not gonna beat around the bush: this is my favorite album Andy has shared through the 52 volumes of this newsletter (Andy: wow wtf). Just absolutely deranged shit that rocks. It reminds me of my favorite stuff from Birds in Row and Converge, but somehow heavier. The drums are fucking so fast and heavy. I love it! The vocals don’t hit for me on every track (“The Pit of Me” isn’t my favorite) but when they hit (“The Mask!”), they really fucking hit.
Also, can I just say, I absolutely fucking love a 22-track, 24-minute album. Most of these songs are under one minute, with a few under 30 seconds, and it fucking flies. The way the majority of the tracks are finished before you’ve adjusted to them starting makes the mid-point of “Will is the War” at 2:55 feel like “Stairway to Heaven” and “Halo Crown” closing the album at 3:05 feel like it’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” Songs that would normally be shorter than your average track legitimately feel “epic” and well-paced just because they’re surrounded by some of the fastest songs you’ve ever heard. This fucking rules. It goes hard. I loved it (Andy: You’re welcome. I love you).