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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Floating on a musical cloud, March 17, 2007
One of the most interesting musical finds I have had in quite some time; this is not your typical indie band...not by a long shot. Cloud Cult and the band's self-created record label, Earthology Records have shunned major label attention and continue to work from their geothermal energy powered organic farm as a not-for-profit music centered environmental and philosophical movement. Not exactly the normal indie band bio.
One reason Cloud Cult has remained independent is the band's dedication to being eco-friendly. Concert tours are made "green" by countering CO2 emissions from travel with acres of tree planting, purchasing wind power credits to power the stages and equipping the tour van with solar panels.
In the early 90s founder and front man Craig Minowa was pursuing his degree in Environmental Science and doing every sort of odd job (Including dressing up as Barney the dinosaur for children's parties) to stay afloat while pursuing the music dream. His first release was under the name The Shade Project in 1995. Such was the budget that Minowa used pots, buckets, couch cushions and whatever else he could find to make sounds for instruments he couldn't afford.
In 2000 Minowa released Who Killed Puck as the Cloud Cult. But without any funds to market the album his financial situation became worse. His son, Kaidin, was born shortly after, marking Cloud Cult's transition away from live performances and into strictly a studio band. Minowa spent most of the next two years focused on his family and environmental work. In 2002 his son unexpectedly died and his marriage crumbled in the wake of that grief. At that point Minowa threw himself completely into music as a way to deal with the tragedy. Five years later the Cloud Cult is a fully formed touring multimedia experience with six albums to their credit. Side note, Minowa also reconciled with his wife and she tours as a visual artist with the band.
No doubt the Cloud Cult has an interesting and unique story which brings us to their newest album The Meaning of 8. Imagine what would happen if The Flaming Lips and The Decemberists decided to join forces, maybe throw in Neutral Milk Hotel and Beck as well. Stylistically the band reminds me of The Cure. Vocally Minowa has a lot in common with Robert Smith and many of the darker guitar sounds take me back to those gothic Cure discs.
Beautiful strings abide in odd harmony with crunchy guitar and electronica. Hip hop and dance beats flow into acoustic guitar. Somewhat off-kilter melody dissolves into bell parts. It is dense and intense, constantly changing and totally engaging. There is no one style here; it truly is a bit of everything. But instead of being distracting it somehow works together very well. Not many artists could pull this off.
According to the band, the lyrics on The Meaning of 8 compare religions and philosophies from around the world with Carl Jung's theories of universal symbolism and the collective unconscious. That statement sounds incredibly heavy handed, but in reality the mood of the disc, while always intense, is not preachy or over the top. It never seems oppressive.
For example the song Take Your Medicine offers up; "You can take it in stride, or you can take it right between the eyes / Suck up, suck up and take your medicine / It's a good day, it's a good day to face the hard things." The song has it all; a great hook, relentlessly catchy music and interesting harmony with a killer middle eight full of bells and chimes.
I would be remiss if I didn't also mention Cloud Cult's 2005 release Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus. It is every bit the equal of the new release with a slightly more dance beat, hip hop fuzz sound. I can't really say which disc is better; they both are really very good. My advice is to buy them both, you won't be disappointed.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the dead are breathing birthday balloons, June 27, 2007
The first time I ever heard Cloud Cult I looked up a few of their songs online. Their music didn't really strike me, it didn't stick out. It was good, but it wasn't anything great. I looked them up because a good friend of mine who usually has the same taste in music as me told me I would like them. I was attending a show of theirs at Macalester College in St. Paul a few days later and I wanted to get a taste of their music first. All I have to say is if you ever get a chance to see Cloud Cult live, take it. Take it. Take it. Take it. The band has such great energy on stage and everyone involved in the show was so warm and friendly. I talked to the woman at the CD stand and we had a discussion about Cloud Cult's usage of recycled paper for their CD inserts, and how everything Cloud Cult does and makes is environmentally friendly. Their music is amazing in real life, and the fact that they have two people painting throughout the whole ordeal is really cool, too.
Now onto the music, the CD "The Meaning of 8" which I'm sure is the reason you are reading this right now. You want to know why you should buy the CD, why it's anything special, etc. etc.
Cloud Cult is like no other band I've ever heard. Their music is innovative, inspiring, and most of the time, it's fun! I really enjoy listening to Cloud Cult because their lyrics are creative and intelligent. A lot of Cloud Cult's music is inspired by Craig and Connie's loss of their child Kaidin (Craig is the lead singer and main songwriter, Connie is one of the artists). This is the basis of the song "Your 8th Birthday" and Connie writes in her bio on their website:
"Cloud Cult is a uniquely beautiful entity created and shaped by my
husband Craig. Many of Cloud Cult's songs are intensely personal to me.
They are literally our journey through grief and loss. I find sadness
and beauty in them and look forward to each new song and look forward to
each new day. Life is truly a gift!"
The lyrics on "The Meaning of 8" are also based off of their personal beliefs involving spirituality, relationships, life, and nature.
My favorite songs are probably Chemicals Collide, Take Your Medicine, and Please Remain Calm. The CD is really good at the beginning, and as it nears the end the music gets a little blander. But with 19 songs total, I guess you can't expect every one of them to be mind-blowing.
I'd suggest looking up their lyrics online and listening to the song excerpts to get a taste of Cloud Cult's music before you buy the CD. Craig's voice is beautiful, but it's very unique, so I can see how it wouldn't appeal to some people. The strings are beautiful and can add a haunting effect to the music. The harmonies on some songs are also very well-done. It's not the most musically sophisticated CD ever, but Cloud Cult does a really good job of incorporating different sounds, and manipulating them to make beautiful music. This is one of my absolute favorite CDs. "Advice From the Happy Hippopotamous" which is their other CD is really good, but I definitely think this one is better, so if you're looking for some Cloud Cult, between the two, I'd say pick this one.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm blown away. , November 8, 2008
For years I've been trying to expand my horizons, a refugee from the long stagnant jungle and lounge genres who had almost given up on finding anything to satisfy my desire for movement of body and soul. Winding along a path of pleasure, I came to A Silver Mt. Zion and took a free spin with the emotional grip of Sigur Ros, moving forward I've grown with each step but months ago I hit a brick wall.
Today, while obsessively trying to locate a song that my memory fails to recall in any detail, I happened upon mention of Cloud Cult performances in Seattle. Compelled by the itch needing a good scratch, I ignored it and continued the search. As the frustration continued, I changed the query syntax and terms over and over, Cloud Cult continued to show up and a nagging curiosity eventually won me over. I'm delighted with the result.
In a musical era where pop has somehow become an even more simplified formula, Cloud Cult stands out with a rare few who have emerged in the dawn of this century with richly layered compositions played so skillfully as to wrap around the lyrical performance to form a seamlessly integrated five course audio treat. Written with passion, the lyrical themes are reflections of history and issues yet covered in a timeless fashion.
I am no expert in music theory, but I know what I like and make an effort to hear what's out there. I've bought three albums today, all Cloud Theory, and it is to their credit that I'm blown away by every track.
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