Send "Cloud Control " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Clashmusic |
 Summer’s here kids! It may only be May, but Cloud Control's debut is making an early play for the feel-good record of 2011. There are more hooks in ‘Bliss Control’’s thirty-nine minutes than in Captain Birdseye’s entire fleet. Think an Australian Ruby Suns, or Fleet Foxes without the beardy tedium and you’re close. Yes, ‘Bliss Release’ is often lyrically simplistic, but listen to ‘Death Cloud’ or ‘Gold Canary’ once and you’ll be humming away all day, and there’s a sly darkness lurking behind the sunburn. If there’s a jollier indie rock record this year I will eat my feet. And my feet are very large....full text |
| Bbc |
| Are other countries' equivalents of the Mercury Prize just as potentially poisonous as our version (what with the decline of Gomez, the difficult drama of Klaxons, and the recent fall from universal critical acclaim of Elbow)? If so, we probably ought to be terribly concerned for nearly-Sydney foursome Cloud Control. This record won Australia's version, which hasn't exactly led to international recognition for predecessors such as... any of them, really. But there are plenty of reasons why this lot could buck the trend. First and foremost, they're an absolute delight vocally, with the cavernously adventuring holler of Alister Wright marrying with the gentle strength of Heidi Lenffer to a degree that suggests the often-tough-to-live-up-to pairing of Alan and Mimi in Low (but in slightly more of a hurry, obviously). There's also a curious sense of space to the bulk of Bliss Release; it may seem somewhat absurd to suggest that growing up in a mountainous area has imprinted heavily on their work, but there are repeated passages of campfire hauntings, dusky repetition and expeditionary motion that imbue it with almost-otherworldly implications. Beyond these consistent threads, however, lies a tremendous surfeit of ideas. It’s as if, having agreed on fundamental themes, the band decided there ought to be room for everything they've ever enjoyed. The results certainly come across as the work of individuals with impressive record collections who, best of all, have understood the appeal of them. Anyone who's witnessed opener Meditation Song #2 (Why, Oh Why) live, for instance, will be aware of the terrific sing-along capacity of its oddly bullroarer-like sections, and the fact that it lurches uninterruptedly into The Last Broadcast-era Dovesisms of There's Nothing in the Water We Can't Fight is both impelling and intriguing. Elsewhere, This Is What I Said is The Flaming Lips' Yeah Yeah Yeah Song filtered through the excitable ears of The Drums – which is how you might've expected Hollow Drums to sound, but no: that's actually thrillingly sparse, country-speckled picture-box acoustica....full text |
| Thevine |
| From the easy harmonies and guitar jangle to the slinking rhythm section and keyboard sheen, there’s plenty to like about the Blue Mountains quartet Cloud Control. Yet there’s something automatic about the band’s debut album Bliss Release. Sounding alternately like Fleet Foxes, the Shins, Vampire Weekend, and Talking Heads, the songs often retreat into the safety of current trend-approved formula, and there's little to suggest a focal point beyond. And notwithstanding a capable leader in singer-guitarist Al Wright, his lyrics are generally noncommittal and nondescript. Under scrutiny, the deserved breakout single ‘Gold Canary’ falters with weak lines such as “I won’t hurt your sister / I cannot resist her”, while ‘The Rolling Stone’ follows suit with empty platitudes such as “Living like a lover is easy, my brother”. So why stick around? Well, there’s the past promise of the band’s self-titled first EP and earlier single ‘Deathcloud’ as well as the Ivy League seal of approval and the straps earned via a recent cross-country jaunt with Vampire Weekend. But really, Cloud Control’s worst offense is resembling this week’s background music. The songs are light and hummable and, at least, varied enough to give hope for the future. The single ‘This Is What I Said’ is easily the best track, with its David Byrne-esque verses and cute, ghostly chorus, while ‘My Fear #2’ is lifted by a chirpy bass line before taking an interesting turn for almost shoegaze-y noise. And when harmonising keyboardist Heidi Lenffer finally sings lead on the closing ‘Beast Of Love’, there’s a welcome thickness, a new colour and twilight atmosphere to her low-slung voice. With a more assured purpose (and more meaningful lyrics), Cloud Control could thrive. As it is, all four members show a firm grasp of the kind of sounds that are currently enjoyable, but to meet their influences their songwriting needs work....full text |
Cloud Control lyrics
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