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04/25/08 Schuba’s Tavern Chicago, IL
04/25/08 Schuba’s Tavern Chicago, IL 04/26/08 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN 05/06/08 Elks Theater Rapid City, SD 05/07/08 Filling Station Bozeman, MT 05/08/08 The Loft Missoula, MT 05/09/08 Neumos Seattle, WA 05/10/08 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR 05/13/08 Bottom of the Hill SF, CA 05/14/08 Knitting Factory Hollywood, CA 05/16/08 Belly Up Aspen, CO 05/17/08 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO 05/18/08 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO 05/19/08 Slowdown Omaha, NE |
Minneapolis experimental rockers Cloud Cult are primarily the creation of singer/songwriter Craig Minowa. It was originally started as a solo act in 1995 and has periodically added members since then, including bassist Shawn Neary, formerly of Tapes N' Tapes, and live visual artists, Connie Minowa - Craig's wife - and Scott West, who actually create a painting apiece during each of the band's live performances which are later auctioned off.
On April 8th, Cloud Cult released their eighth album, "Feel Good Ghosts (Tea Partying Through Tornadoes)," which is, as should be expected from previous offerings, a spooky, passionate art-rock fever dream that impresses further with every listen. Featuring an interplay of haunting cello, cartoonish violin and crashing drums, Minowa and company have cultivated a sound which feels to me like the unlikely pairing of Mike Patton and Sufjan Stevens. As always, there's an undeniable tone of despair and desperation to Feel Good Ghosts, with a sort of urgent longing, pain, and helplessness that has become their trademark. But there also seems to be an underlying current of optimism running throughout that was perhaps less prominent in their previous offerings. Historically, much of their material has lyrically taken root in catharsis of the 2002 death of Craig and Connie Minowa's infant son. There can be no doubt in their latest work that it still weighs heavily, but there seems to be something of an emotional upturn to this album - even chronologically within the album - the first track is titled "No One Said it Would be Easy" the seventh "The Ghost Inside Our House" and the final three songs "May Your Hearts Stay Strong," "The Will of a Volcano" and "Love You All." It's in this way that the album feels like an epilogue to me, like the conflict resolution and the last few thoughts at the end of an epic novel. Admittedly, I come to these conclusions influenced by the knowledge that the band has announced its plans to pack it in - at least for the near future - following their current tour. Here's hoping for sequels…
In case you need more convincing: They're one of the most environmentally-conscious groups you'll ever come across. Their self-published not-for-profit label Earthology Records uses a geothermal-powered studio and prints on recycled paper with ink made from vegetable oils. The band also travels in a biodiesel van and they plant 10 trees for every thousand albums they sell. Now if they could just perfect the sweat-powered amplifier, those all ages shows would be a breeze.
04/24/2008 18:43:56 andrew my♥posts 
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