Artist: Wand
Title: “Blue Cloud”
Release Date: September 6, 2017
Label: Drag City Records
With Wand‘s album Plum dropping this Friday, the band has released three tracks, including their latest single “Blue Cloud.”
Blue Cloud adds to the band’s range rather than move the band away from the sound they were known for. From the opening guitar riff to the tapped hi-hat that follows, the intro sounds like a rock track from 1970s films and television. It’s clear the band took cues from the improvisational jazz that rock bands from that decade were known to experiment with.
With melodic vocals, keyboardist and singer Sofia Arreguin never sings above the tempo of the music. Her voice recalls Kim Shattuck of The Muffs. At times, it’s hard to exactly make out what Sofia is saying–I’m afraid to take a guess for fear that I may be wrong.
Overall, the song stays upbeat with a tone that shifts between feeling lost and hopefulness. It continues into an instrumental halfway through, and the listener is soon greeted with quiet as all the instruments slowly start to fade, until all you hear is a soft tapping of the hi-hat. But this only lasts briefly, as you next hear a soft guitar plucking and drums kick back in, followed by a long guitar note. The song then goes into the hard rock Wand has been known for on past albums, and instruments hit a high before going back to the opening guitar riff. “Blue Cloud” ends on a positive note with the line “Hold onto yourself,” which leaves the listener feeling sunny and ready for the next track.
Plum gets released digitally and in the physical formats of cassette, vinyl and CD tomorrow, September 22nd, on Drag City Records. Click here to get a copy. See them play live in San Diego this Sunday, September 24th at the Casbah.