Sister Raygun by Clouder

2014 sees Clouder reemerging with their sophomore album, Sister Raygun, after an 8 month hiatus full of personal trials and tribulations for some members that almost led to the band's demise. The emotional turmoil and intensity weathered during this break can be felt throughout 10 explosive tracks, as themes of anxiety, paranoia, debauchery, loneliness, reverie, and psychedelic esoterism inflame equally overwrought rhythms. The frazzled sense of urgency on this album reflects not only the cathartic themes, but the excitement and chaos of coming back together as a band after a long period of uncertainty. The beginnings of the album were fleshed out by Clouder's rhythm section (Max, Jim, Steve, and Matt) in their Brooklyn practice space and then sent off to lead singer Eric Gilstrap who was living in North Carolina. After months of immersing themselves in writing and recording rough demos back and forth, Clouder rekindled in producer Jeff Berner's (Psychic TV, Heliotropes, Dead Stars) Brooklyn studio and left it ablaze with Sister Raygun in hand.

Musically, Clouder both polished and expanded their approach, retaining their charged-up psych sound on “Lost in Reverie,” a romping track about a faceless female presence with morphing guitars that switch between surf and psych and “All The Royal Years Are Gone,” an anthemic dreamer's call to conquer a stagnant music scene. Other highlights include “Damaged Sun”, “Phantom Girl,” and “Psychic Cities,” which reveal Gilstrap coming into his own as a charismatic lead singer and the band bolstering their blank-generation-new york-meets-60s-rock swagger.

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