Track Review: ‘So Right So Clean’ by the Cloud Nothings

Editor’s Note: As part of CMN’s ongoing music journalism program, we asked our team of music writers to review one fresh track from a new album that is being released in October. 

Indie punk band Cloud Nothings recently released their new single “So Right So Clean,” an edgy, mid-tempo track, fused with elements of classic rock and topped with the vocals of Dylan Baldi.

The track opens with an electric guitar riff that builds over a steady drum beat. Baldi sings, “So right, so clean / but does it mean anything / No”

Halfway through the track, distorted instruments fuse with Baldi’s vocal screams. What starts off as a thoughtful, mellow introduction takes an unexpected turn as Baldi dives into an emotional build-up of suppressed feelings of aggression and sadness. It’s the calm before the storm.

Towards the end of the track, Baldi’s vocal screams intensify, then calmly fade as he sings the repeated lyric line, “I wish I could believe in your dream.”

The track is the third single from the band’s upcoming album Last Burning Building which will be released today via Carpark Records.

When discussing his motivation behind the band’s new project, Baldi says, “A lot of other bands sound great, but it’s missing a heaviness I like.”

“So Right So Clean” follows the band’s previous singles “Leave Him Now” and “The Echo of the World.”  The Cloud Nothings will be on tour across America through the end of the year. 

“I’m obsessed with the idea of energy at the moment.” Baldi says, referring to the creation of Last Burning Building. “That’s how I thought of this record: seven short, and one long, bursts of intense, controlled chaos. I wanted to make that come across in a way that can actually be felt.”