And, unfortunately—I hate to say it—that’s exactly what this record is. “Hey Now Now” bristles with energy, its New Order-like disco rhythm, comically exaggerated hi-hats, and circuitous chorus practically jumping out of the speakers. In fact, the song reminds me a bit of Modest Mouse’s crossover hit “Float On,” with its yelpy vocals and a short, repeated guitar figure.
I’d like to go beyond Idov’s argument: this album seems to exist only for one song, and that one song seems to exist only for its chorus. The verses are alright, I guess, but they’re nothing special, like the rest of the album.
That’s not to say that The Cloud Room doesn’t have potential. The singer is quite expressive, and the songwriting is tight and listenable and logical, although not outstanding or surprising. And I exaggerated in the last paragraph: “We Sleep in the Ocean” is actually a pretty cool song, kind of a slightly more upbeat Lou Reed ditty. But I, for one, hope the band stops reading the blogs and internet websites (except Left Hip, of course) that insisted on hyping “Hey Now Now” prematurely, and instead go back home and think about moving away from the standard pop song. The Cloud Room has written one great tune, so why shouldn’t we expect another one? We should. We do.
