Listening To: Cloud Cult, The Meaning of 8

Video: Chemicals Collide from The Meaning of 8 by Cloud Cult


Cloud Cult is the brain child of Craig Minowa or should I say "heart child".

Every new Cloud Cult album is like finding the secret diary of a friend who is making a valiant effort to get through a hard time. You feel almost guilty as you listen to the sweet, naive, outpouring of emotion that Craig puts into his albums. It is almost too personal to listen to. It makes you uncomfortable. But you are drawn to it, at first with morbid curiosity, but later with a grateful empathy as you begin to be amazed that your friend is able to express such intimate thoughts so openly. Of course this album is not a diary. And Craig wants us to hear it. But listening to this haunting, personal, soulful music is still an intimate experience. A rare thing in this age of mass production/mass consumption music where artists are always striking larger than life poses. This is music on a more personal scale.

If you like groups like Mercury Rev, Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips, give Cloud Cult's new album, The Meaning of 8, a try.

Hold on tight during the first listen. Power through it. Let it sit for a day or two. Then go back and revisit. I guarantee the second time through will be a different experience. Your hair will have stop standing up on the back or your neck, and you will be able to relax into Craig's emotional space and find some things you might recognise and resonate with.

Cloud Cult is not party music. But for quiet times and a pair of headphones, it can be an interesting journey.

And in an interesting note: the band tours with two full time artists Scott West and Connie Minowa who create paintings on stage during each of the Cloud Cult's shows. You gotta love that! Well, you don't, but as a painter/musician in all seriousness, I gotta say I love it.

They have a website: http://www.cloudcult.com/