I'm never gonna learn to be alone

 From the first note of Cloud Nothing's latest album, Attack on Memory, it is evident that they've strayed a bit from the indie-pop-punk that gained them acclaim. "No Future/No Past" opens the LP with a dark, Slint/Drive Like Jehu vibe. It's follow-up, "Wasted Days," sounds as if the band is starting to remember its roots a bit more....but then it turns into a nearly 9-minute kraut-rock jam (which you tend not to hear on albums resembling any variety of "punk," aside from Fucked Up). It could be tempting to think of Steve Albini's production that helped this sound along, but Dylan Baldi, chief Cloud Nothing-er, is quoted as saying "Steve Albini played Scrabble on Facebook almost the entire time [we were recording]. I don't even know if he remembers what our album sounds like." By the fourth track ("Stay Useless," posted above), the group is clearly back on familiar ground. Catchy hooks, powerchords, etc. Attack on Memory is a fine example of the power of sequencing on an album. They get to show you how they've grown and expanded as a band, and before you have a chance to question it, they've gentally coaxed you back to safe ground. You get a long, quality journey, with a nice, comfortable end. Like a (insert sexual metaphor here).