Attack on Memory
| Attack on Memory | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Cloud Nothings | ||||
| Released | January 24, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 at Electrical Audio | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:50 | |||
| Label |
 Carpark Records Wichita Recordings
|
|||
| Producer | Steve Albini | |||
| Cloud Nothings chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| The A.V. Club | A− |
| The Guardian | |
| Mojo | |
| MSN Music | A− |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.6/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 9/10 |
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. 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.
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." Albini had a hands-off approach to recording the album during the four days Cloud Nothings recorded with Albini. 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. 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.
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.
...
Wikipedia