Cloud Castle Lake – ‘Sync’
After a couple of years of promise through shows of ambition, Cloud Castle Lake suddenly returned yesterday with news of an EP called Dandelion which is due on September 22nd on Happy Valley Records. The band are now a trio of Daniel McAuley, Brendan Jenkinson and Rory O’Connor.
Previously, the band’s output hadn’t amounted to more than a couple of covers and some live videos.
I’d previously been critical of Daniel McAuley’s vocals on the I Am The Cosmos album, a production that was admirable but that has often felt trying (I still now waver from liking it to hating it).
On ‘Sync’, McAuley’s high falsetto has a more natural fit to his own band’s ornate arrangement (plus Cosmos’ Ross Turner on drums). The song grows from brass tones through percussive passages to a peak of rhythmic almost jazz-rock. It’s evidence that all that time spent being coy and shy with their material in the intervening years was definitely a good move, as while technically, the song is on their debut release, there is combined years of experience heard here.
The song is on iTunes and the EP can be pre-ordered. The band have live dates in London and Dublin:
Whelans, Dublin – Sat 20th September
The Sebright Arms, London – Thurs 25th September
Hey, before you go...
Nialler9 has been covering new music, new artists and gigs for the last 19 years. If you like the article you just read, and want us to publish more just like it, please consider supporting us on Patreon.
What you get as thanks in return...
- A weekly Spotify playlist only for patrons.
- Access to our private Nialler9 Discord community.
- Ad-free and bonus podcast episodes.
- Guestlist & discounts to Nialler9 & Lumo Club events.
- Themed playlists only for subscribers.
Your support enables us to continue to publish articles like this one, make podcasts and provide recommendations and news to our readers, and be a key part of the music community in Ireland and abroad.
Related
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.