Touch the Clouds
Gordie & The Cruisers
To the untrained ear, a band like Detroit’s Touch the Clouds is going to stand out for reasons that the listener won’t be able to define. They’ll say things like, “oh, that sounds like Kings of Leon and Screaming Trees.” They’ll tell you that the parts of their songs are different than other bands and love the energy, but won’t be able to explain it thoroughly despite how much they like them. To the A&R / Label “professional,” they’ll say the exact same thing and dismiss them - and completely miss the point. I haven’t spoken directly with this band, but this is the second time I’ve written about them and you can tell by listening to their repertoire that they thrive in the space of not following an industry standard as to what a song should be. They care about writing honestly. They care about writing uniquely. They might sound like something you’ve heard before, but that’s not the actual tones you’re feeling - that’s the emotion. That’s the uniqueness of this band. This is one of my favorite bands in the US, and it’s so fitting that they’re from Detroit. Here’s my review of their latest single, “Gordie & the Cruisers.”
It’s an all start with the band, and you can tell that we’re in an odd meter before they even get done with the first phrase. We’re in B, about 151 bpm. The first phrase is built around the 1 and the 5 (going down), while the melody goes up around the 3rd. Fantastic guitar and bass tones, and I love the drum feel. I don’t know if they’re counting this as 6 & 8, or two measures of 7 but it works really well and must be fun as hell to play live. Do yourself a favor and pick out all the intricacies of the the parts. Notice the off beat bass line. Contrast that against the lead line, now throw in the kick pattern. Damn that’s cool - that’s like KOL meets Rush. Nice change in the progression in that little break before the pre-chorus. Great set up, it really creates a nice little anti-room before the chorus hits in 4.
With the first chorus notice how they create a new room feel by changing the pattern to four, and adding what sounds like a piano part (or bells) on top. That’s really pretty - great production. There’s also a beautiful juxtaposition between the chaos of the instruments and the longer held notes from the lead singer. Wonderful production and mix, with classic feels - absolutely love it. Is that a Hammond buried in the mix?
Second verse comes at you right away and they continue to build up the energy. No need to expand too much on this killer section - the best part of it is the time change feel and I’m glad they didn’t change it. Same approach with the second chorus and we’re humming along now. The build coming out of the second chorus is prolonged with a great snare crescendo before we get a brief reprise and an outro chorus. I’m stunned that this track is only 3:17 - it feels longer and would be great to see extended in a live setting. Lyrically, it’s rather opaque. The images are those of disastrous life experiences and revisiting them - but that’s just my take. I don’t want to know what it’s about - I’ll attach my own meaning based upon what I’m going through right now - and they resonate.
There are times when writing this blog I have to find a way to write around parts that I don’t like, but I never experience that when I listen to this band. They’re one of the few that keep me guessing and interested with every song and I’m so glad I found them. Make sure you scroll down to catch their socials and other tracks. If you’re in within 100 miles of Detroit - GO SEE THEM LIVE! See their socials for more info (scroll down!).