New Neon Cloud: “22”

Hey I don’t know about you/but I’m feeling the hairs on my arm stand up a little bit.

At long last, mysterious (like, legitimately mysterious! Not fake mysterious) outfit Neon Cloud give us new material since 2011’s stunning Knit EP. And they aren’t simply recycling old, shadowy ideas on “22.” This is, to date, the longest Neon Cloud song in existence, coming in just under six minutes and thirty seconds. On Knit, every track clocked in at under five minutes, and “22” finds them making the most of that space. The center of this track features the hallmarks of Knit – murky, barely understandable singing, a persistent beat, synths swirling in every direction and sounding vaguely menacing. Yet Neon Cloud are finding new, subtler ways to unnerve – a crackly sound warps itself around during “22’s” main section, never forming into any consistent sound but rather sounding like ice coming apart behind the swirling song. It all builds in intensity as the song trudges forward, Neon Cloud showing off a new-found ability to pace these songs into something bigger than atmospheric works. And it ends with a whirring outro that sorta lets you catch your breath…even though that damn crackle persists. Looks like 2014 is off to an unsettling start. Listen below.