Photo by Vin Romero

Where we last left off with Cloakroom, we were getting lost in a Dissolution Wave of a cosmic cowboy journey that pondered the place of an artist dangling by a cable as the spaceship moved closer and closer into the void of a black hole. The Indiana-based early adopters of heavygaze atmospheres have somehow found their way far from being swallowed whole, however, on “Unbelonging”, the first preview off their new album and first since signing with Closed Casket Activities. Maybe it’s been the time vocalist and guitarist Doyle Martin has spent filling in more colorful layers within Nothing’s recent live era that’s also brightened his own band’s sound, as the listen hears their density resoundingly lightened by pop turns within their guitar aerodynamics and exploring neon psychedelic post-punk hues. It feel like they could engulf hardcore, emo, shoegaze, and alternative waves with one fell swoop like a star swallowing a galaxy whole. Anxious as the listen may be as it moves under the veil of lyrical darkness, it’s also a fascinating shift in the cosmos from the trio.

Cloakroom’s “Unbelonging” single is available now on Closed Casket Activities.