Post-hardcore. Post-everything. The music that seemed to be an anthem for a generation years ago resurfaces in a more melodic light, still holding onto the same angst that guided its listeners 10 years ago. Wallclouds – Bradlee Meredith( Vocals), Josh Tassinari (Guitar, Vocals), Dalton Farr (Bass,Vocals), Cale Horton (Guitar), and Jordan Huckabaa (Drums), – a 5-piece band from Oklahoma City, OK, revive the genre with their debut album oneironaut, recorded and mixed by Kevin Gates at Engaged Audio, and mastered by Don Grossinger.
The 8 track album surrounds simple patterns heard throughout similar artists in the same post-hardcore and emocore subgenre, while Wallclouds classifies themselves as melodic noise, which I cannot disagree with this claim. In addition to the fast pace and high vocals that could sum the album up, an interesting theme of the album revolves around dreams. The album’s title, oneironaut, simply means a person who explores dream worlds, which could be drawn back to lucid dreaming. Each track title seems to feature common dream keywords, while the music could represent the dream itself. What a better way to explore dreams than through Wallclouds’ melodic noise interpretation.
“Ocean,” the opening track on the album, is a fresh song heard a decade ago, and with that feature contains the power to transport the listener to the late 90s, early 2000s. The track isn’t obsessed with trying to be too loud and overbearing, allowing the melody to be heard, while the standout feature on this track would be the drumming. “Teeth” became an instant personal favorite. Aside from symbolic and lyrical value, everything is lined up, and the delivery hits the spot. It seems a more natural stylization of vocals than the previous track which I prefer and flatters the music as a whole.
“Agartha” is unique in its own class. The intermission within the album not only shows creativity, musical ability, but a simple literal audio representation of being in limbo while moving on to the next dream world- “I’m never gonna wake up” repeats till faded out. As catchy as “Haunted” is, the downfall of this track is being generic- while the song is great, there isn’t anything that could separate it from other songs in the same genre- only drawing this conclusion to its own songs within the album that resonate louder.
A break from the norm on the album, and another standout track would be “Pariedolia.” This slower song showcases versatility with the band’s sound, but still holding on to Wallcloud’s own voice. This would be melodic noise. This would be oneironaut. This track also acts as a prelude, to “Reflections,” as the album reaches a conclusion with these tracks. The synergism of energy that flows from these two are as powerful alone as together. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the album and define their sound; a pleasurable album that transported me back to an era that defined my own youth and thoughts.
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