Cloudkicker- Let Yourself Be Huge

Let Yourself Be Huge is the third full length album from instrumental composer Ben Sharp, better known under the moniker Cloudkicker. Since its creation in 2008, Cloudkicker has been a unique presence within metal.  While solo artists aren’t uncommon in metal, Cloudkicker was different in that they didn’t belong to any sort of particular scene or spawn from a ‘real’ band. His recordings are exceptionally clean, and very early on he stood out from other solo and technical metal bands with his unique sense of melody and flare for cinematic and melancholy tones. Cloudkicker’s first album The Discovery was released as a free download, a format that he still favors this day. Sharp’s mission was to get his music out to as many people as possible and didn’t feel it was necessary to charge for his music. Only last year with the release of Beacons did he offer a physical product for his albums having has LPs and CDs manufactured for the release. All the profits from the physical sales and donations from Beacons were put directly back in to new musical equipment for the recording of Let Yourself Be Huge.

Cloudkicker is truly a progressive band. His first few releases were highly technical Meshuggah-worship. The drums were programmed impeccably with a level of detail that was hard not to appreciate. As heavy as the early recordings were, Sharp never lost track of good songwriting and his sense of melody. In the years to follow, he released a slew of EPs as his style began to develop and change as he came into his own. His writing got tighter and the recordings started to sound more natural and less clinical. His second full length Beacons from 2010 was an accomplishment in instrumental metal. No longer syncopated tech metal, but also not a meandering post-rock album, Beacons was an album unto itself.

Cloudkicker- The Word Water

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Cloudkicker- You And Yours

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Rest of the review after the jump!

Sharp’s biggest progression yet is his new album, Let Yourself Be Huge. The new album strays away from metal altogether, with only the song “You And Yours” coming close, but even then the overdrive never reaches full distortion. On this album, Sharp used an electronic drum kit rather than program them. This move gave the album a more organic, human feel than past releases. It’s this human touch that really makes LYBH such a wonderful listen. The album opens with beautiful layers of acoustic guitar. The album is punctuated by four acoustic tracks all under two minutes long. The first proper tack “Explore, Be Curious” goes from full volume to sounding like the song is coming from computer speakers in the next room, which is just as well as there is an audible double click from a mouse right before the song kicks back into full volume. It’s an unusual motif that somehow seems totally appropriate. Each song on this album is shimmering with different layers of guitar and bass. Alongside LYBH, Cloudkicker has released a 16 track companion piece called Loop. Loop is comprised of short guitar and bass loops that operate on a similar melodic and emotional level as LYBH. Sharp’s melodies evoke a sense of melancholic nostalgia. Each song will remind you of the specific times in your life that had the most impact. The cover art couldn’t be more suitable. The color palette of the sunset at the beach runs through all the songs on the album. These songs are falling in love, getting your heart broken, first kisses, long goodbyes, homesickness and regret. Listen to this album and you’ll feel like you’re staring out the window of an airplane watching the clouds pass beneath you as you leave everything behind.

Let Yourself Be Huge is available to order on cd or 10″ from the Clouckicker Bandcamp Page. This and all other Cloudkicker releases are available for free download/donation.