Nostalgia can be a precarious thing to navigate in the music world. For Cloud Nothings’ Dylan Baldi, 20, the ’90s grungy/indie/punkish rock sound he and his band mined at his sold-out show at Schubas on Friday was far from a yearning memory. For them, it marked a new direction from Baldi’s former lo-fi bedroom-recorded pop past. And whether the audience felt tinges of musical nostalgia or Baldi was paying homage to an era that wasn’t his own mattered less than their admirable, unfettered style.
Along with the change in sonic direction, Cloud Nothings became more of a band through the recording of their recent “Attack on Memory,” which was helmed by Steve Albini. It marked the first time the group worked together on an album. This showed during their set, which was mostly culled from their new material and contrasted to the smattering of earlier charming, but less fleshed out songs they traversed. The collaboration served them well in its raw cohesiveness. “Wasted Days” was a study in lyrical self-reflection with Baldi’s gritty, insistent screams of “I thought I would be more than this” and an enjoyably indulgent stretched-out instrumental that was blown out for several minutes longer than on record. Baldi crouched low to the floor, riding his guitar melodies, before rising for the refrain’s reprise.
Those of a certain age could’ve closed their eyes during “No Future/No Past” and felt transported back to angst-ridden times, but Cloud Nothings played with such conviction it gave it a fresh context. And while a nod at the past signified a new look for them, Baldi’s strong sense of pop melody was not completely abandoned. Songs such as the catchy “Fall In” and appealing “Stay Useless” married their strengths from then and now. Being fickle youth, it’s hard to predict where Cloud Nothings’ might sonically head next, but so far theirs is a musical ride worth taking.