Glasgow duo Cloth are the epitome of minimalism and using space and quiet as an essential part of their overall sound and impact, proof positive that powerful impactful music doesn’t always have to mean loud, brash and boisterous. This hypothesis is corroborated fully by the four tracks that make up the bands new 4 tack EP, Low Sun released on the influential Rock Action label.
The EP kicks off in unassuming but highly effective style with Old Stories, Rachael’s breathy vocal paired with minimalistic synth backing, before effective layering builds multiple textures, and fills the initial spaces and silences with soundscapes which are both somehow huge and restrained simultaneously.
Lucid is a consummate study of subdued restraint, the embodiment of absolute class, laidback and seemingly effortless, the near whispered vocal paired perfectly with an effective stripped back melody. The power contained within this delicately elegant song is utterly earth shattering in its quiet potency.
Title-track Low Sun picks up the baton where Lucid leaves off, in comparison to its predecessor the guitar riffs at the outset, and throughout are positively boisterous, the complexity of the duo’s signature multi-textured sound is mind-blowing in its apparent simplicity and effortless cool.
Closing the EP in deftly adroit style is Sidecar, which while listening, I couldn’t help thinking, I’d love to see the movie that these songs could be the soundtrack too, bringing to mind one of my all-time favourite movie soundtracks, that of the tragic tale of Betty Blue.
This EP is utterly heartbreakingly beautiful, the artful savvy that is demonstrated by Rachael and Paul can’t be underestimated, they have perfected the art of capturing the essence of charming simplicity, while proving my earlier affirmation that potent vivacity does not need to mean overblown excess,
Cloth played a home city show tonight on the eve of the EPs release (while I was trying to find a missing cat…), if you’re quick you can catch the band at their upcoming gigs next week in Leeds, Manchester and London.