Credit: Supercloud
Writer
Post-punk trio and UofG students Supercloud are back with a stomping new single
Following last year’s singles I Believe in You and Tabasco on Porridge, the Supercloud boys are back at it again with their most ambitious single to date: Dirty. The track certainly lives up to its name, with layers of heavily distorted guitars that seem to re-enact an ever-intensifying plunge into darkness before resurfacing on the other side with a clean, reverberating sense of melancholy. If a load of Sonic Youth and Interpol songs got together and had a love child, Dirty would be it. The song also mixes in hints of 90s shoegaze, and I find myself picking up influences from bands like Ride, Galaxie 500, and My Bloody Valentine; famous for their indulgent yet enigmatic use of effects pedals. Supercloud have found the perfect balance with this track – they are not afraid to rev up the distortion to create a grungy buzz that goes beyond what a lot of artists might be comfortable with. Get it wrong and the song can just sound like a mess, but the mixing is executed so well that all the transitions are completely seamless.
The song performs its title – it’s a dirty headbanger, but underlying the escalating chaos is a sense of sorrow. This is most evident in the vocals, which seem to ruminate on something squandered or ruined in the past. The vocals really shine in the song’s farewell, with blissful harmonies accompanying the final bittersweet moments as the song fades out. My favourite part is the bridge that’s found slap bang in the middle of the action after two escalating verses. It embodies the sense of spiralling out of control as you descend into the dark unknown; the edgy guitars create an atmosphere of teetering paranoia before the relieving breakthrough that precedes the song’s climax.
So what’s next for Supercloud? I certainly hope they continue in this direction. Dirty is a song that picks up on all the best elements of their favourite influences, which is something that many artists find difficult to achieve. These boys have good ears and know what they are doing, which makes me excited for the future.
Dirty was released March 22 and is available on Spotify
