Now I certainly don't take any notice of what the NME says - I've never been the biggest fan of the publication or its irritating way of shoving its 'chosen' bands down your throat (note the painful Glasvegas) but I am a fan of Cloud Control - a young band from the Blue Mountains in Australia.
Some mates back home told me to check out Cloud Control if I had the chance and so I went along to The Social last year a few blocks from my work with about 100 other people and saw them headline the last night of a residency with three other young bands including Dry the River. I was pretty impressed with the performance - you couldn't swing a maggotty cat in The Social (the drummer wasn't even on the stage!) but the songs were good and the band was tight. Afterwards I invested in a copy of their debut album Bliss Release and I played that thing to death over the next six months.
I'd missed the band again late last year so was happy to be able to see them for a tenner again early on in the the year. It was an early gig so we were there at 7pm in time to see the second of the showcase bands on the bill - Dog is Dead. A rather dreary name but they are from Nottingham so I let that slide. They are competent with their instruments although a little lacking in presence and/or confidence (I don't have long enough to decide!).
Next up was We Are Augustines - a three piece band from Brooklyn with plenty of confidence and with good reason - these guys are GOOD! A song in and the crowd is with them. I hate to lump these guys in with a New York/New Jersey sound but they do remind me of Gaslight Anthem in parts. They are full pelt and have a big sound - I will definitely be tracking these guys.
Cloud Control are on stage around 8.45am. The come out in a cloud of smoke - go figure! - which makes photos almost impossible. They start an intro jam which segues into the first track of their album - Mediation Song. It is a while since I've been in the Electric Ballroom (the last occasion was almost eighteen months ago to see Mudhoney) but jeeeysus it is loud tonight - which may have something to do with the enormous speaker stack directly in front of me - earplugs it is then!
I can't tell whether it's just because they are Australian and have the 'get up and play' attitude or that they are still young but I feel that they are lacking a bit of stage presence. It's certainly not affecting the music or the response they are starting to get from the eclectic crowd.
The set is only an hour long in total and they run through most of Bliss Release in that time. My favourite track - That's What I Said - is the third song in the set. I love this song - it's completely infectious and carefree:
'Soul is what I've got,
I know it's not much,
but it's mine'
I find myself thinking that Cloud Control are a band I'd have seen at the Uni Bar in my time - oh lord what a long time ago that was!!
In the set we also hear Death Cloud, Ghost Story, Gold Canary, The Rolling Stones, My Fear #1, There's Nothing in the Water We Can't Fight & Buffalo County.
Things take off when during There's Nothing in the Water We Can't Fight - there are kids on shoulders, fisted hands pumping the air and a general lift in intensity. It's a great response.
The only non-album track we hear comes straight after a very short encore break - it's a cover of Kid Cudi's Pursuit of Happiness - it's an interesting cover choice and well-recieved. I've heard it before as its included on Triple J's LIke a Version Volume 6.
It's all over rover by 9.45pm and I must say quite a good night for a tenner. I'm hoping the next time I see Cloud Control they'll have some new material and a bigger presence - they are young, but they are gettin there.
The kids are definitely alright!
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