Cloud Nothings are an underrated band who just seem to constantly fly under the radar. It seems every time they release an album, I check it out only to quickly remember, “Oh yeah, they’re a really good band.” Their newest is no exception: Last Building Burning is another eight songs of seriously great, aggressive and punk-influenced indie rock of sorts. Their return to Boston brought them to The Sinclair in Cambridge, which packed out well for them on this chilly Friday night. When I arrived, opener the Courtneys were in full swing of their set. The trio play straightforward indie rock, and while it was a bit staid and static for my liking, a lot of the crowd seemed to be into it, and I think their banter was received as charming.
Cloud Nothings immediately started the set with a full playthrough of Last Building Burning, which was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t totally unexpected, as they played all of the then-newly released Here and Nowhere Else when I saw them in 2014. But still cool, obviously, especially as it’s a standout album, up there with the best of the year. The band has actually gotten more aggressive as they’ve progressed in sound, and they really let loose here on the ragged and intense overtones. It didn’t take long for the crowd to get into the swing of things, as a pushpit formed in the middle that lasted for just about the entire set, only calming down somewhat during the more melodic fare like “So Right So Clean” and the bouncy “Stay Useless”. The band extended the “Dissolution” bridge for an extra-long jamout, and encore feature “Wasted Days” was definitely a little longer than even its nine-minute running time on record. Besides the new album, they played another half-dozen standouts from the rest of their extensive catalog, throwing in a shoutout to Somerville record store Grooves. It was a very cool set that helped continue to cement their strong holding in the genre.
Set list (10:45-11:49):
1. On an Edge
2. Leave Him Now
3. In Shame
4. Offer an End
5. The Echo of the World
6. Dissolution
7. So Right So Clean
8. Another Way of Life
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9. Realize My Fate
10. Strange Year
11. Pattern Walks
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12. Stay Useless
13. I’m Not Part of Me
Encore (11:50-12:02):
14. Wasted Days