Back in March, in the thick of South By Southwest 2013, footage of Cloud Nothings performing a new song surfaced online. We knew little about the hooky, noisy freakout, except that it sounded a bit like Sonic Youth and was a possible candidate for the Cleveland crew‘s upcoming fourth album. Now comes a cleaner, acoustic version of the track via a performance video for Austrian blog They Shoot Music.
Filmed in Vienna, the clip finds main man Dylan Baldi strumming the tune, which is tentatively titled “Psychic Trauma,” solo. “Life gets boring, fades away,” he sings. “I can’t believe that what you’re telling me is true / My mind is always wasted listening to you.” In a recent Tweet, the band wrote the new song “sounds better” in the SXSW video. Watch the stripped-down version above and decide for yourself.
Cloud Nothings’ follow-up to last year’s outstanding Attack on Memory (lucky No. 13 on SPIN’s 50 Best Albums of 2012 list) is reportedly due in early 2014, with the foursome planning to record in October. Speaking to the press last year, Baldi described the LP as “a little less melodic” than its predecessor, adding, “It’s noisier and less straightforward. I think people will be able to handle it.” We’re waiting.
