Artist: Cloud Cult
Album: Light Chasers
Released: September 2010
Label: Earthology Records
Genre: Experimental pop
Purchase Date: 6 Dec 2010
Format: mp3 files
Source: eMusic
I first encountered the Minneapolis-based experimental band Cloud Cult in 2008 on the Sound Opinions radio show a few years ago. Jim and Greg reviewed the band's last album Feel Good Ghosts (Tea Partying Through Tornadoes) on a "hidden gems" episode. I really liked the track they played, so I bought that album, and it became one of my favorites of the year. When performing live, the band has a lot of people on stage, and the members include a cellist, a violinist, two brass players, a bassist (playing both electric and upright), and a percussionist. Their sound can vary from classical chamber music to heavy rock (sometimes in the same song). It is this playfulness with sound and mood that drew me in.
Led by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Chris Minowa, who is married to fellow band-mate Connie Minowa, the band often explores heavy concepts like life, death, faith, and the afterlife. This is understandable, as the Minowas lost their first child in 2002 at the age of two. Minowa used songwriting to channel his grief, but managed to keep the music playful while exploring the darkness. The Minowas had a second child in 2009 (whom they named Nova), and Light Chasers explores the life-death cycle from a much happier perspective.
Possessing extremes of dynamics, mood, and orchestration, Light Chasers is a wild ride, and ultimately an uplifting one.
Rating: B+
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