Gotta say I didn’t much care for this album the first time I heard it. Featuring Cave In’s Adam McGrath and members of a dozen odd indie bands, I was quick to expect boredom as I saw Legendary Demo painted all in one colour. (C’mon, I review between 200 and 300 CDs a year…give me a break!) However, repeat listens summarily show that one colour of rock explored in fantastic relief, blowing every shade through your ear holes like so many aural shotguns. Clouds’ constantly punchy riffs stroke the love from Southern-fried stoner to self-dubbed party grunge, with the twenty-minute “Quartulli Dub” -- an homage to early Fifty Foot Hose-like prog-rock -- tacked on for luck. With just a little patience, “Magic Hater” will show you the perfect fusion of ’70s Frank Zappa comical virtuosity and ’90s punk immediacy. The sheer righteousness of these hooks finds its evidence stockpiling in your brain more and more each time you hear them, so it’s probably a good idea not to listen to this while you’re studying.
I’m thinking my mistaken initial assumption may also be attributed to the fact that the album starts off with the most straightforward and, subsequently, derivative rawk cut here, hitting you over the head right off the bat with a wall of noise. It’s a wonder that they chose to wait till the last two tracks to loosen up the mojo and let a little swagger, saxophone, and synth in there, but the wait is definitely worthwhile. That’s the shit that draws people in and makes them want to see you live…or it could just be me; I was raised on classic, blues-heavy, psychedelic rock, so I may be a little pickier than most when it comes to this sound. In any case, Clouds passes the acid test in flying Technicolor. You Wolfmother fans have no excuse not to be on board.
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