Read our in depth interview with Cloakroom bassist Bobby Markos on the making of Further Out here.
Interview with Cloakroom bass player Bobby Markos from 2013.
Anyone that has been a reader of B.G.M. for the last two years or so will know that Cloakroom is very near and dear to our collective B.G.M. heart. Now that the band has made themselves a little more present in social media outlets (and we are able to follow them more closely), the anticipation for this album was through the roof. After multiple delays, the much anticipated first LP Further Out is finally here, and Cloakroom has shown yet again why they are a needle in the haystack of “90s revival” bands (I don’t particularly think 90s influenced sounds went anywhere over the last 15 years, I just think people are paying a little more attention now).
The Indiana-native (har har) trio turned heads in 2013 with their debut EP Infinity, many making note of the emo, shoe gaze, post-hardcore, stoner rock, and other throwback influences that introduced a sound Cloakroom could call their own. Bobby Markos (bass), Doyle Martin (vocals and guitar), and Brian Busch (drums) return in 2015 with the downbeat, distorted, next-room-over drowned out sounds of Further Out. The album, recorded, mixed, and mastered completely in analog by Hum’s Matt Talbot displays the bands tremendous growth musically, so much that I don’t even care that the album was pushed back to this year.
Further Out warmly welcomes you (quite literally) with warm, fuzzy guitar and fat bass tones in “Paperweight.” In true shoegaze fashion the song fades out in guitar noise that would likely make some listeners grind their teeth. Dinosaur Jr.-esque guitar distortion and melancholy vocals on “Outta Spite” usher in heavy stoner rock riffage in “Moon Funeral”. Album single “Lossed Over” sees Martin’s vocals placed a little higher in the mix, a first for the band. Following interlude “Mesmer” gives listeners a break from the walls of noise with a post-rock instrumental. “Asymmetrical” is a downbeat and sort of melancholy trod that builds up to a satisfying, but equally melancholy ending. “Deep Sea Station’s” driving verse rhythms and soaring guitar notes remind me of a gazier version of The Colour and the Shape by Foo Fighters.
It’s awfully refreshing to see a band coming out of the slew of 90’s revival bands with a sound that’s truly their own. There’s so much going on in Further Out that I can’t even begin to list out the influences I hear. Like Cloakroom’s previous release, this one may take a little getting used to but once you do the rest is history.
Rating: 4.5/5