Cloud Nothings
Take a one-man low-fi bedroom project, add a band, stir in a liberal amount of Steve Albini, cook over high heat, and slice into eight deliciously crunchy tracks robust enough to satisfy anyone with a taste for the Pixies on a cough-syrup binge. That’s Westlake resident Dylan Baldi’s potent recipe for Attack on Memory, Cloud Nothings’ third and best album, which has collected overwhelming praise from the expected (it prompted Rolling Stone to name them “a band to watch”) and the unexpected (Time called the album “another win in rock for Ohio”). And like any self-respecting indie-punk kid, Baldi is doing his part to keep the vinyl seven-inch alive. After releasing “For No Reason” as a split single with Toro Y Moi last year, Cloud Nothings will join the hallowed ranks of those who’ve contributed exclusive songs to Suicide Squeeze Records’ limited-edition singles series. With a future this wide open, we can’t wait to see what Baldi cooks up next. — Brian Baker
With a Classic Education and Library Time.
8 p.m. Thursday, April 5. Grog Shop. Tickets: $10, $8 in advance; call 216-321-5588 or go to grogshop.gs.
Set Your Goals
Set Your Goals have made a career walking the line between pop-punk and melodic hardcore. The California sextet deals in big, memorable hooks for the Warped Tour set and pogo-worthy breakdowns for the beefy guys in basketball jerseys. They’re relentlessly aggressive, but they do it all with a smile. Set Your Goals also happen to pack a secret weapon: two singers. Jordan Brown and Matt Wilson don’t really offer different vocal styles — nasal pop-punk snark drives both of them — but the variations they employ keep the songs distinct. The pair harmonize key passages, trade off verses, and even complete each other’s lines with the rapid-fire consistency of old-school MCs. So whether they’re reminiscing about past tours, growling about the environment, or simply articulating their growing pains, it sounds like a collective shout from a group with a singular vision. — Matt Whelihan
With Cartel, Hit the Lights, Mixtapes, Super Prime, and Light Years. 7 p.m. Friday, April 6. Peabody’s. Tickets: $15, $13 in advance; call 216-776-9999 or go to peabodys.com.
Chip Tha Ripper
Chip Tha Ripper recently started a beef with XXL, claiming he turned down a spot on its annual list of rising rappers. The magazine says he’s just a sore loser. Either way, he’s worked up quite a storm in Cleveland. Over the past few years, the adroit MC has proved that he can deliver the lowdown on his many mixtapes. The latest, Tell Ya Friends, rounded up notable collaborators like Kid Cudi, Wale, producer Lex Luger, and the omnipresent Bun B — and collected more than 250,000 downloads in its first two weeks. Running down Chip’s countless projects is enough to make Krayzie Bone winded. He’s now in the studio with Cudi recording his debut album, Charles Worth, titled after his birth name. (The LP is due sometime this summer.) With everything on Chip’s plate these days, here’s hoping he doesn’t put Pulled Over by the Cops — his hip-hop supergroup with the Cool Kids, Curren$y, and Freddie Gibbs — on the backburner for too long.
— Michael Tkach
8:30 p.m. Saturday, April 7. Peabody’s. Tickets: $22, $17 in advance; call 216-776-9999 or go to peabodys.com.
The All-American Rejects
At once typical (that band name) of and unabashedly more commercial (their self-titled debut album went platinum) than the pop-punk scene they’ve been a part of for a decade now, the All-American Rejects aren’t ones to stir up the genre. Ever since their 2002 breakthrough single “Swing, Swing,” the Oklahoma band has released a steady stream of songs about getting their hearts broken, mostly by girls who don’t even know they exist. It’s more of the same on their just-released fourth album, Kids in the Street. Singer-bassist Tyson Ritter pines over a beekeeper’s daughter on the LP’s first single, buzzing around her hive in hopes she’ll glance his way. And on “Someday’s Gone,” he calls a girl a bad trip before melting at the mere thought of her. It’s romantic hopelessness powered by hooks as big as Ritter’s fractured heart. Everything leads to a dead-end street with the All-American Rejects, but nobody expects things to turn out any other way. — Gallucci
With Rocket to the Moon. 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 10. House of Blues. Tickets: $28.50-$35; call 216-523-2583 or visit houseofblues.com.
SBTRKT
Like so many of his electronic-music peers, London DJ and producer SBTRKT hides his face, personality, and any defining characteristics that may reveal he’s just a normal guy behind literal and figurative masks. Born Aarone Jerome and rising through the cutthroat ranks of the U.K. dubstep scene, SBTRKT (it’s pronounced “subtract,” if you haven’t figured that out) makes dance music that’s a little more soulful and consequently more human than that of his contemporaries. Much of this has to do with the various singers who show up on his tracks — especially the ones on his self-titled debut album that came out last year. Little Dragon, Sampha, and others put a voice, if not exactly a face, on SBTRKT’s music, giving it an electric charge that goes beyond its club roots. It can get all moody at times, elevating the booming bass and shadowy whirs of all the gadgets to esoteric realms. But it can also get lost in the thickets of electronic noise, attempting to clear its way through the synthetic fog of keyboards and drum machines. Still, the dude’s a master at tying a whole bunch of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them club scenes into one sturdy package of skittering steps. — Michael Gallucci
With Willis Earl Bill. 9 p.m. Friday, April 6. House of Blues. Tickets: $20, $18 in advance; call 216-523-2583 or visit houseofblues.com
Under the Radar
South Carolina rockers Needtobreathe got their big break opening for Taylor Swift during her sold-out U.S. tour last year. It was a pretty big score for a band that had spent the past half-decade slowly making its way up the ranks. They’re kinda like Kings of Leon, but without the douchiness and with more Jesus talk. They’re now headlining their own tour in support of last year’s The Reckoning. They come to House of Blues on Wednesday, April 11.
At 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, hob.com.
This article appears in Apr 4-10, 2012.
