Attack On Memory

''Attack on Memory'' is the second studio album and third LP overall by Cloud Nothings. It was released on January 24, 2012, by Carpark Records and was engineered by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago.Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory (Vinyl, LP, Album
Discogs. Retrieved 16 March 2012. The album is the first to include frontman Dylan Baldi's live band as full-time members and co-writers, and has been noted for its heavier sound and darker songs, a sharp turn from the power pop of previous releases.

Recording

Production

''Attack on Memory'' was engineered by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. Dylan Baldi saw Albini as someone who made bands "sound like they're playing a live show," and that he wanted the album "to sound like us playing."Bevan, David
Breaking Out: Cloud Nothings
Spin. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012. Albini had a hands-off approach to recording the album during the four days Cloud Nothings recorded with him. Dylan Baldi claimed that Albini spent much of the recording time playing Scrabble and blogging, and that Albini never made any suggestions to the band.Pelly, Jenn
Cloud Nothings Talk "Aggressive" New Steve Albini-Produced Album
Pitchfork. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012. Albini elaborated on Baldi's claim in an Ask Me Anything, saying that he would read "dry, un-interesting stuff" to prevent him from interfering with the recording process when unnecessary, while at the same time being able to stop what he's doing when he hears something obtrusive.Port, Ian
The 10 Best Quotes from Steve Albini's Ask Me Anything on Reddit
SF Weekly. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2013.

Musical style

''Attack on Memory'' saw a change in Cloud Nothings' musical style. While previous Cloud Nothings albums were pop albums, the tone of ''Attack on Memory'' is more aggressive. Dylan Baldi called the album a bunch of "depressing songs," and cited his boredom with power pop as attributable to the album's musical style. Additionally, the title was a reflection of Baldi's feelings towards Cloud Nothings' previous sound: "an attack on the memory of what people thought the band was."

For specific influences, Baldi cited Black Sabbath, Nina Hagen, Killdozer, Zounds, Thin Lizzy, The Wipers, Bitch Magnet and Swell Maps.Goble, Corban
Under The Influence: Cloud Nothings Attack On Memory
Stereogum. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

Release

''Attack on Memory'' was first announced on October 28, 2011.Pelly, Jenn
New Release: Cloud Nothings: Attack on Memory
Pitchfork. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012. The first single from the album was "No Future/No Past," released on November 7, 2011. "No Future/No Past" received a Best New Track designation from Pitchfork.Cohen, Ian
Cloud Nothings "No Future/No Past"
Pitchfork. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012. The second single from the album was "Stay Useless," released December 9, 2011. Like "No Future/No Past," "Stay Useless" received a Best New Track designation from Pitchfork.Fitzmaurice, Larry
Cloud Nothings: Stay Useless
Pitchfork. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012. A third track from ''Attack on Memory,'' "No Sentiment," was released on January 13, 2012.Fitzmaurice, Larry
Cloud Nothings: "No Sentiment"
Pitchfork. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012. On January 17, 2012, the album was streamed in its entirety.Pelly, Jenn
Listen to Cloud Nothings' New Album Attack on Memory
Pitchfork. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

Reception

''Attack on Memory'' has received strong reviews. The album has a score of 83 out of 100 on the review aggregate site Metacritic, based on 33 reviews.

'' Pitchfork''s Ian Cohen gave the album a Best New Album designation, writing "But like the best of indie's recent guitar bands that dare to skew retro ..''Attack on Memory'' is too visceral to feel like escapism, too vital to feel like cheap revival." Steven Hyden of '' The A.V. Club'' also praised the album, writing "Baldi used to write like a kid anxiously dodging boredom; on ''Attack On Memory'', he’s moved in the opposite direction, opening up wide spaces in his music and letting the fury beneath breathe and then bellow." Consequence of Sound's Michael Roffman praised the album " spite the vaguely emo lyricism," writing "Baldi hardly comes off as juvenile. He’s far too sincere and angst-driven, only it’s the "from-the-bowels" sort of angst that Hutch Harris trademarked with his Thermals outfit. Zachary Houle of '' PopMatters'' called the album "an album that was well worth the wait," writing "Hyper and frenzied, ''Attack on Memory'' has every right to be an anticipated early album of 2012. It’s great, catchy as hell, and bristling with retro rage and vitriol."

Tiny Mix Tapes' Conrad Tao, on the other hand, criticized the lyrics, writing "'No Future/No Past' and 'No Sentiment' work as anthems of angst but are lyrically confused, the former’s aggression at odds with its insistence on apathy while the latter has the worst line of the whole album: 'No nostalgia, no sentiment, we’re over it now.'" Adam Downer of Sputnikmusic also had a mixed reaction to the album, writing on the band's new sound: "They might misguidedly masquerade as something more 'authentic' by hiding behind a bunch of muddy bullshit, but the muddy bullshit is conspicuously calculated, which invalidates its purpose. In other words, they try not to be what they were previously by aping a different, heavier sound, and the resulting record's a hodgepodge."

Accolades

''Pitchfork'' ranked ''Attack on Memory'' #19 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2012, writing: "For too long, indie bands didn’t want to get their hands dirty; with ''Attack on Memory,'' Cloud Nothings were out for blood."The Top 50 Albums of 2012
Pitchfork. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012. The album was listed at #21 on '' Rolling Stone''s list of the top 50 albums of 2012, saying "Drums pummel, guitars chew scenery, and Baldi's scream makes old-school aggro-depression feel like new-school joy."50 Best Albums of 2012
Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 December 2012. The album was listed 6th on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012.Stereogum’s Top 50 Albums Of 2012
Stereogum. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2013.

Acclaimed Music, a site which aggregates hundreds of critics' lists from around the world into an all-time ranking, declares the album as the 1005th most acclaimed of all-time.

Track listing

All songs by Cloud Nothings.

Charts

References

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2012 albums
Cloud Nothings albums
Carpark Records albums
Albums produced by Steve Albini
Wichita Recordings albums