This is not the first band from south of the equator to appear on the 2013 Musical Bacon Calendar, (see Lorde at #28), and it won’t be the last. But this is the first appearance of Cloud Control, a band from outside of Sydney, Australia, whose second album Dream Cave is just gorgeous.

Falling somewhere between the Beach Boys and Grouplove, the band creates psychadelic pop soundscapes. Lots of reverb and echo, harmonies and happiness, like Animal Collective if they actually wrote pop songs with any kind of obvious structure. Cloud Control don’t sound like they’re from Australia (what would that sound like?), but before learning about the band, I’d assumed they were English, as they have that London rock ’n’ roll appeal.

The video above, for their song “Scar,” is the second video they’ve released from the album, which came out back in August. (The first video, for “Dojo Rising,” was featured on The Bacon Review back in October.) I’m not sure what to make of the video, which has the lead singer of the band walking across the (assumed) Australian countryside, near the Blue Mountains where the band is from, dirty and getting dirtier (and even a little bloody) as the video goes on. The song is called “Scar,” I get it, but isn’t that taking it a bit far?

Cloud Control come through town on January 15th, at Barboza. That venue is TINY and it will no doubt sell out, so get on that ASAP.

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21. Mole City by Quasi
22. Phantogram by Phantogram
23. Julia With Blue Jeans On by Moonface
24. Uncanney Valley by The Dismemberment Plan
25. Event II by Deltron 3030
26. Wise Up Ghost by Elvis Costello and The Roots
27. Us Alone by Hayden
28. Pure Heroine by Lorde
29. Shaking the Habitual by The Knife
30. False Idols by Tricky
31. Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart

2012 Musical Bacon Calendar
2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar