Cloud City

Band: Cloud City
Title: Everything Is Getting Colder
Label: N/A
Release Date: 2008
Review By: Scott L

Tracklisting:

01. Swimming
02. These Hands Are Cold
03. Move Through The Calendar
04. To Cut Yourself Deep
05. Blind

When I was a kid I was a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy. Well, that’s not entirely accurate… when I was a kid I was a huge fan of the original Star Wars trilogy. I saw the Episode IV in the theater on my friend’s birthday. I can remember standing in line for hours on opening day waiting to get in to see The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. So it should go without saying that when I receive a CD by a band calling themselves Cloud City, whether intended or not, my first thought is to wonder if there’s a connection. But don’t worry, there’s no connection. So it’s safe to keep reading. You won’t find any songs titled “Ode To Lando” or Man, That Carbon Freezing Kinda Stings”. Nope. Nothing like that at all. Just some nice dreamy indie rock.

Cloud City is a 4-piece out of Springfield, Missouri that’s musical style fits right in with the likes of Copeland, Lydia, and Lost Ocean. I’d hazard a guess that if you like Copeland at all, you’ll probably dig Cloud City. They play a jangly indie rock with typically melancholy vocals and lots of cymbal. The mix is a bit loose, but nothing that’ll hurt your ears.

Lyrically, the five songs that make up Cloud City’s “Everything Is Getting Colder” EP are all about global warming. Just kidding. This CD has nothing to do with global warming. At all. It’s not even made out of recycled plastic. So there. Anyway, lyrically, Cloud City has a bit of a spiritual undercurrent but for the most part stay pretty ambiguous. Take the track “To Cut Yourself Deep”, which moans “you are not here / so I am fine / you’re like a television set / you keep me from being alive / and I suppose you’re used to this / I suppose you’re used to this / you cover up so quickly / and you’d be gone in five seconds if you didn’t feel lonely”. It’s not as emo as it sounds… but the vibe is there.

Standout track was kind of a toss up between “Blind” and “These Hands Are Cold”. Both are great songs but for completely different reasons. “Blind” is beautiful plodding mood music that’s tempo sort of meanders… while “These Hands Are Cold” is a more upbeat, catchy tune that has a kind of a cerebral tone and some cool keys. I’d probably give it to “These Hands Are Cold” if I were forced to choose only one.

Overall: I really liked Cloud City. In spite of the egregious lack of Star Wars themed songs. While not really pioneering any new ground on the musical frontier, what they offer is a nice, casual ride through just under 30 minutes of soothing sounds that I suggest you take the time to check out. - Indie Vision Music

Editor's Picks

If we could lavish praise on all of Springfield's musicians, we would. Unfortunately, we have no such space or time. But here are a few more awards we thought were worth doling out (even if you don't get a trophy for it).

Have your own awards? Leave them in the comments!

Hardest-Working Band
Trash Angels

Best Way to Experience Jazz
Mask Jazz Fusion

Best Band That’ll Blow Your Republican Mind
Falcon Punch

Best Unheralded Album
Everything Is Getting Colder, Cloud City

Saddest Breakup of Many Sad Breakups
Jah Roots

Best New Venue
Sparrow’s

Best Closed Venue
Sparrow’s

Most-Improved Venue Not Nominated
The Front Porch - Whitaker Publishing LLC

Cloud City’s music is tailor-made for country drives and headphones. They use to be called Better Left Behind, but now they play perfectly engineered ambient rock with steadily melodic guitars, sparse pianos, pretty vocal, and a rock-steady rhythm section. I’ve never seen them live, but I’ve heard they’re great. I’ll probably be in the front row Saturday night trying to figure out what effect pedals Josh Widner and A.J. Moore use and how drummer Ian Key cues the tempo change in “Blind.” Check out their EP “Everything is Getting Colder.” It’s easily one of the best local releases of 2008. - Metromix