You are looking at the Best Album of 2012. It’s January and I’m calling it already. Been listening to Attack on Memory (and little else) for the past few days because, quite frankly, it’s blowing my mind. By now, everyone should know that I’m decidedly contrarian when it comes to new music — especially albums that have been BNM’d — but for whatever reason, Attack on Memory produces this incredible enthusiasm somewhere deep inside my brain; I can’t say that’s happened with any other album in recent memory, although I do think Pure X’s Pleasure might be an exception to that statement. Cloud Nothings has been on my radar for some time; I saw them perform at CMJ and I thoroughly enjoyed the set (and thought Dylan Baldi was a major hottie, but felt bad for being an old lady with a crush on a 20 year-old) — but I don’t think I was mentally prepared to digest this album based upon my preconceived notions about the kind of band Cloud Nothings is/was. Moral of the story: I guess putting things in boxes can backfire. In the meantime, I’m struggling to accurately describe this album without sounding prudish or not giving it its due justice. The best thing I can come up with is “post-post hardcore dreampop” — but considering how I constantly find little bits of Sonic Youth and Feelies popping up here and there on the album, I think I’m missing another genre buzzword in this equation. I am just pleased that a non-fuzzy wuzzy electro chillwave band is getting some blog buzz. Punk’s not dead, y’all.

You are looking at the Best Album of 2012. It’s January and I’m calling it already.

Been listening to Attack on Memory (and little else) for the past few days because, quite frankly, it’s blowing my mind. By now, everyone should know that I’m decidedly contrarian when it comes to new music — especially albums that have been BNM’d — but for whatever reason, Attack on Memory produces this incredible enthusiasm somewhere deep inside my brain; I can’t say that’s happened with any other album in recent memory, although I do think Pure X’s Pleasure might be an exception to that statement.

Cloud Nothings has been on my radar for some time; I saw them perform at CMJ and I thoroughly enjoyed the set (and thought Dylan Baldi was a major hottie, but felt bad for being an old lady with a crush on a 20 year-old) — but I don’t think I was mentally prepared to digest this album based upon my preconceived notions about the kind of band Cloud Nothings is/was. Moral of the story: I guess putting things in boxes can backfire.

In the meantime, I’m struggling to accurately describe this album without sounding prudish or not giving it its due justice. The best thing I can come up with is “post-post hardcore dreampop” — but considering how I constantly find little bits of Sonic Youth and Feelies popping up here and there on the album, I think I’m missing another genre buzzword in this equation. I am just pleased that a non-fuzzy wuzzy electro chillwave band is getting some blog buzz. Punk’s not dead, y’all.