The Shadow I Remember
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Shadow I Remember | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 26, 2021 | |||
| Studio | Electrical Audio, Chicago[1] | |||
| Length | 32:08 | |||
| Label | Carpark, Wichita | |||
| Producer | Steve Albini | |||
| Cloud Nothings chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Shadow I Remember | ||||
The Shadow I Remember is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cloud Nothings. It was released on February 26, 2021 via Carpark Records.[5]
The album was recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois, with record producer Steve Albini.[6]
Release
On October 13, 2020, Cloud Nothings announced the release of the new album, which they had written while in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
Singles
The first single to be released from the album, "Am I Something," was announced on the same day as the album details.[6]
On November 17, 2020, "The Spirit Of" was announced as the second single.[7]
The band released the third single, "Nothing Without You," on February 3, 2021. In a press release, lead vocalist Dylan Baldi said the song "explores both the negative and positive aspects of dependency, whether it be on a person, a place, an object, or nothing at all."[8]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.3/10[9] |
| Metacritic | 77/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Beats Per Minute | 62%[12] |
| Consequence of Sound | B+[13] |
| DIY |  [14] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[15] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 6/10[16] |
| NME | [17] |
| Paste | 7.3/10[18] |
| Pitchfork | 7.2/10[19] |
The Shadow I Remember was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 77 based on 13 reviews.[10] At AnyDecentMusic?, the website gave the album a 7.3 out of 10 based on 10 reviews.[9]
Writing for AllMusic, Heather Phares gave the release a 4.5 out of 5, explaining "The Shadow I Remember's compact, hooky outbursts are just as potent as the slow-burning epics on Cloud Nothings' other albums. They're so seasoned that they can shift from bouncy to crushing and back again in a blink on "The Spirit Of," or whip through a dramatic buildup, blistering choruses, and a radiant coda in 90 seconds on "It's Love."[11] In a review for The Line of Best Fit, Ben Lynch gave a mixed review for the album, noting the music is "typically replete with hooks and furious one-liners", and the band should "reassess once more before they head into the studio again."[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Oslo" | 4:08 |
| 2. | "Nothing Without You" | 3:18 |
| 3. | "The Spirit Of" | 2:30 |
| 4. | "Only Light" | 2:37 |
| 5. | "Nara" | 2:28 |
| 6. | "Open Rain" | 3:01 |
| 7. | "Sound of Alarm" | 3:03 |
| 8. | "Am I Something" | 3:26 |
| 9. | "It's Love" | 1:31 |
| 10. | "A Longer Moon" | 2:51 |
| 11. | "The Room It Was" | 3:15 |
| Total length: | 32:08 | |
