Well, I guess from this day onward, things will be a bit quieter around here. It’s the last song of the P (and Q) section. It’s the last Cloud Nothings song that will feature on this whole thing too. They had a good run. The first one I wrote for the band came in 2014 with ‘Fall In’. Had I known the band earlier, ‘Cut You’ would have got its own post too. Bit of a shame though because since they released Here and Nowhere Else all those years ago, there haven’t made another record that hit me the same way as it and Attack on Memory did and still do to this day. I did think they would go on to take the rest of the 2010s by storm. Wasn’t meant to be it seems.

‘Quieter Today’ is the second song on Here and Nowhere Else and keeps things rolling on very swiftly after the album’s mood is somewhat established by its opener, ‘Now Hear In’. Guitarist and vocalist Dylan Baldi described it as ‘almost like a pop song’, and I see where he’s coming from. In terms of the structure, you’ve got the standard procedure of verse, pre-chorus, chorus (x2), bridge and outro. So, in that way, it’s easy to follow like a pop song. Though where it differs greatly is that obviously it’s in a noise-rock context where the drums are thrashing, moving almost ahead of where each beat is supposed to go, and where the guitars are playing chords and hooks at a frenetic pace. My favourite moments aren’t even brought on by the performance here. They arrive in those short pauses that occur in between the pre-choruses and the choruses themselves. All the tension built in the former is released in the latter with this great release; it’s so cathartic every time.

Gotta say I have no idea what the lyrics truly are. Genius appears to have what would be the closest-sounding to what can be heard, but I’m still skeptical about them anyway. Though Baldi also stated that the song is about being comfortable in just observing and keeping quiet when around people who talk just for the sake of talking. This is a sentiment that I am on board with all the way. If I didn’t already like the song, that just added a few bonus points in my eyes. Not that I don’t want people to talk all the time. It’s just fine to have those moments of silence where no one feels like they have to fill it with something to avoid things being “awkward” or whatever. Hats off to Cloud Nothings for this song and addressing this topic.

Annnd that is it for now. My goodness, that was a lot of songs. For a bonus, I’ll throw in ‘QYURRYUS’ by The Voidz. It won’t get a post, but I just want people to know that it’s a bop. It’ll feature on the Spotify playlist too. The series will come back, and I’ll be tackling the R’s. See you then.