The Cloud Room (CD)
Named after the Chrysler Building's abandoned speakeasy, The Cloud Room is a Brooklyn-based quartet that forges the wistful, Kinks-esque pop of the 60s with the second coming of New York rock into hooks the most Ritalin-crazed fan of Justin Timberlake and New Order could sing in the shower. The Cloud Room thrive on their unique way of blurring the lines between today and yesterday. According to J, "People always groan about how good rock used to be. To hell with that, there's still great songs out there waiting to be found."
For their self-titled debut album, The Cloud Room worked with renowned indie producer Chris Zane (Calla, Inouk, Human Television, Les Savy Fav), who brings J's voice -- sort of like Peter Murphy trying to sing like Bowie -- to the forefront of the stark groove of drummer Jason Pharr and bassist Jon Petrow. Add Ben Nugent's keyboards and you have a sound that "feels like an old friend, yet...introduces itself like a stranger." (Skyscraper Magazine)![]()
| Tracklisting | |
| Disk | 1 | |
| 1 | Hey Now Now |
| 2 | Waterfall |
| 3 | Blackout! |
| 4 | Devoured in Peace |
| 5 | Sunlight Song |
| 6 | Beautiful Mess |
| 7 | The Hunger |
| 8 | O My Love |
| 9 | Blue Jean |
| 10 | Sunlight Reprise |
| 11 | We Sleep in the Ocean |
| Charlie Mason
- , PA, |
| Overall, I feel that this is essentially what everyone else is doing and is not orgininal at all. Granted, a few tracks do stand out and are enjoyable to listen to and may make it to mix tapes/cds. The album does not have a great replay value and is essentially below average. The few songs are able to give it some lift in my rating. The bottom line is that there are a lot of bands playing this type of music and putting out great innovative albums, this is not one of them. | |