Review: Cloud Control, Bliss ReleaseThere are times I don’t understand the record business, and the band Cloud Control gives me a way to discuss this confusion. Bliss Release, the debut album from the foursome from the Blue Mountains of Australia, is slated for its U.S. premiere on August 30. This is all fine and dandy until you realize the album has been out in Australia since May 2010, which is impossible to know unless you happen to have access to a wireless connection — and who has access to one of those anyway?
Cloud Control won the top music award in its country for the album in March, and now it finally reaches the States? I know it’s a long flight, but really? I bring this up because for as much promise as Bliss Release has, it’s fondness for folk rock and psychedelic touches feels dated and done, as if Cloud Control brought appetizers to a dinner party but showed up during dessert.
There’s plenty of guitar plunking and wistful harmonies throughout Bliss Release, as lead singer Alister Wright shares the mic with Heidi Leffner to some success. But there’s a blithe spirit running through track after track — songs end less out of purpose and more out of boredom. “Meditation Song #2 (Why, Oh Why)” sets this tone from the outset — Wright seems to run out of lyrics and sings “why oh why” on repeat while the background music falls into a psych-groove done much better by The Black Angels (“Ghost Story” follows this refrain).
“Death Cloud” is the album’s most intriguing song, showcasing a certain motivation and nice guitar flourishes to accompany a sleek shoegaze feel. “This Is What I Said” is also a keeper, as its breezy and up-tempo harmonies are kept alert by a playful Smiths-like guitar — a great pop song all around.
But too often the songs are familiar, sounding like Fleet Foxes (“Just For Now”) or Okkervil River (“Hollow Drums”). Yes, maybe Cloud Control had these musical epiphanies first — problem is, I’ve already heard the other two. If Bliss Release is as strong as it’s purported to be, wouldn’t we all have heard it by now?
Cloud Control’s effort isn’t a flop, it’s just a bit behind (through no fault of its own). Here’s hoping the band’s follow-up isn’t held up in U.S. Customs.
