Lost in Reverie is a romping rock track about a faceless female presence that’s propelled by antsy guitars that morph in and out of surf and psychedelic jangles while lead singer Eric Gilstrap’s own crazed instrument shifts seamlessly between droning pitches and invigorating yelps up towards the moon. This song sets the precedent for Sister Raygun which reveals Gilstrap coming into his own as a charismatic lead singer and the band bolstering their blank-generation-new york-meets-60s-rock swagger.
Within the first year of being a band, Clouder played over 100 shows around New York City, generating quite a buzz around their wild and intense live show. Before long, the band was heralded as “Brooklyn’s bad boys” and “one of the most exciting garage/psych rock bands to make a splash in NYC in the past couple years.” Their 2012 debut album, Freakin’ Out the Squares, was a favorite of fans and critics alike with their roaring, guitar-driven 60’s-inspired rock ‘n roll, and helped cap off a stellar year by getting them a feature on NPR’s All Songs Considered as one of their Highlights Of CMJ.
2014 sees Clouder reemerging with their sophomore album, Sister Raygun, after an 8 month hiatus full of personal trials and tribulations for some members that almost led to the band’s demise. The emotional turmoil and intensity weathered during this break can be felt throughout 10 explosive tracks, as themes of anxiety, paranoia, debauchery, loneliness, reverie, and psychedelic esotericism inflame equally overwrought rhythms. The frazzled sense of urgency on this album reflects not only the cathartic themes, but the excitement and chaos of coming back together as a band after a long period of uncertainty. The beginnings of the album were fleshed out by Clouder’s rhythm section (Max, Jim, Steve, and Matt) in their Brooklyn practice space and then sent off to lead singer Eric Gilstrap who was living in North Carolina. After months of immersing themselves in writing and recording rough demos back and forth, Clouder rekindled in producer Jeff Berner’s (Psychic TV, Heliotropes, Dead Stars) Brooklyn studio and left it ablaze with Sister Raygun in hand.