Over four years in the making, Yell At Cloud is the follow up to the PLOSIVS critically hailed debut (RollingStone.biz said “best new release of the week” in 2021). Why so long between releases, you ask? Nov. 2020 the band was invited to be the first guinea pigs at No Fun Club recording studio in Winnipeg, Canada and baptize the brand new facility. The band would live and record in the studio and be densely immersed in the forming of this new record. It was still during the days of COVID lockdowns and the earliest stages of permitted, international travel. Producer, engineer and studio designer Mike Bridavsky (Deerhoof, Magnolia Electric Co., The Cowboys, Durand Jones & The Indications, Half Japanese, The Residents) welcomed us with open arms and helmed the controls. Unfortunately, a massive Arctic storm (even by Winnipeg standards) descended. The compound was without power for the first five days. Using generators running on diesel and heat powered by sheep tallow, the band had to resort to using as little electricity as possible. Most of what you hear on Yell At Cloud was recorded in the dark or by candlelight in below freezing conditions. It wasn’t as romantic as it sounds. Due to Canada’s regulations for foreign travelers during the pandemic, we had to forge out on foot once a day in blizzard-like conditions to a clinic a mile away where we had to be swabbed nasally, between the toes and in the groin area in order to be tested for COVID so we could be allowed to stay in the country for another 24 hours. Imagine a band trying making a record in John Carpenter’s The Thing. This had a massive influence on the material and the way it was captured to tape. Finally the sessions became so intense the band members could no longer sustain focus to completion and decided to return home to finish the record at a later date. Months turned to years. Drummer Atom Willard was now the full time member of the Alkaline Trio. Guitarist John Reis focused on Hot Snakes and his solo recordings and shows with Swami John Reis. Singer and guitarist Rob Crow continued with Pinback and a myriad of projects both musical and visual. Bassist Jordan Clark reconnected with his band The Frights and began touring and recording with them once again. There was such a massive emotional dust cloud kicked up during the recording of Yell At Cloud that it took four years to settle. Finally, Ben Moore (who recorded and mixed the bands debut) stepped in and mixed Yell At Cloud. In order to a create seamless continuity with the original tracks, Ben mixed the majority of these files in the dark with the brightness of his screen turned to the lowest setting. The result is a claustrophobic album that searches for an oasis within. From lurching dissonance to uplifting harmonic convergences Yell At Cloud is a stark, black and white departure from their debut.
