Cloakroom
Further Out
Release Date: Jan 20, 2015
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Record label: Run for Cover Records
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Further Out from Amazon
Album Review: Further Out by Cloakroom
Great, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Indiana-based trio Cloakroom have described their sound as "stoner emo," making note of their equal love of sludgy, looming walls of guitar; mumbling, sad-hearted vocals; and yearning, melodic chord changes. Their second album, Further Out, finds them honing the rough ideas that were forming on their 2013 debut, Infinity. Slow plodding rhythms and walls of wailing, feedback-friendly guitars call to mind the sleepy-eyed slowcore bands of the '90s like Codeine and Come, while in their more melodic moments Cloakroom sound more in line with the polished melancholic grunge pop of more well-known acts like Hum and Smashing Pumpkins.
Based on rating 7.7/10
The most frequently quoted fact from Cloakroom’s bio is that they’re a trio of factory workers from Indiana. It is a backstory that makes sense in hindsight upon hearing their minimally arranged, moderately morose, and maximally loud debut LP Further Out. Cloakroom know from heavy machinery; the operative terms for Further Out are "bulldoze," "steamroll." Here’s a picture of the band—Brian Busch is on the left and the drums on Further Out sure sound like they’re being hit by a guy who has 100-litre barrels for arms.
Based on rating 3.5/5
Cloakroom's haunting dynamic was the main reason I got into their 2013 EP. Infinity was emo without being too emo. Shoegaze without being too shoegaze. Dour, depressing and cathartic without being...well, you catch my drift. That album left a sonic imprint that had me spinning it for months on end ….
'Further Out'
is available now