Album Review: acloudyskye - This Won't Be The Last Time

An extension of the indie rock sound and fraught relationship themes that might feel familiar, yet has enough focus from acloudyskye to make it worthwhile. ‘This Won’t Be The Last Time’ builds up its sonic and thematic foundations, allowing its overall potency to shimmer through nicely.

After ending his last record with a glimpse of the light shining through, ‘This Won’t Be The Last Time’ extends acloudyskye’s indie rock breakthrough with something more immediate and propulsive. Containing streaks of distorted noise that eventually become a bit too familiar within this brand of indie rock, lacking distinct production flair besides some synth embellishments that add some color to the record. Yet, it is within acloudyskye’s potent compositions and vocal prowess that gives the tunes their power. ‘Shoots’ and ‘Float’ soars through the skies with all the stomping grooves and guitar riffs; the slow buildup of ‘Myth’ utilizes its distorted bombast to great effect; ‘Innards’ and ‘Home’ backends the album with post-rock dynamics that acloudyskye knows how to successfully create, all with blaring dynamics and sweeping strings and acoustics to land it all home.

The extension of that sound does make sense with the narrative continuing past that last record. Here, acloudyskye’s personal longing is grasped with optimism. A willingness to hold onto that connection that he’ll cling to, where even despite the anxious tension that is being described, he’s willing to weather through those somber spaces as he sees the good past it all. But that connection gets cut apart by the end of the album, as acloudyskye eventually recognizes how that person has hurt somebody else, leading him to break himself out of that longing. And while it leaves him crumbled, with the shadow of what he used to long for still lingering in the background, he knows that he has to look into what he wants to do and what he wants to be.

‘This Won’t Be The Last Time’ is an extension that sketches more potency in acloudyskye’s set of tense indie rock, carving more focus in melodic and lyrical layers. It may be a step forward rather than a risky leap that would give more intrigue and spark to the tunes and writing, but there is still enough snappy sharpness that provides this record with the weight it needs. It might not be the last time that acloudyskye will explore this sonic palette; hopefully, he continues this journey and finds the changes that are worth keeping down the road.

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Favorite Tracks: ‘Shoots’, ‘Myth’, ‘Float’, ‘Innards’, ‘Home’

Least Favorite Track: ‘Spill’