Ted Leibowitz, the host of the long-running indie-rock-oriented internet radio station BAGeL Radio, likes to point out the rare “self-titled, non-debut album that doesn’t suck.” Bands’ first albums are often self-titled, since they’re trying to introduce themselves to the world. But sometimes, when an act is getting stale, the band will try to reinvent their sound and release an album that is self-titled to signal that they’re getting “back to the basics.” Usually, this ends in disaster. But every now and then it works — like Cloudland Canyon’s self-titled fifth album.
“We were thinking it would be kind of cool for some reason to have people not really know what the title was. Like Big Star’s Third record, shrouded in mystery,” says Cloudland Canyon’s bandleader Kip Uhlhorn. “We have another title, but I kind of chickened out about it. It’s written on the sleeve.”
Even if the record had officially carried the title which graces the cover, God Bless Kip Uhlhorn, it would still have been a roller-coaster, nine-song journey through Uhlhorn’s hard drives. He started in the plague year of 2021, after he had taken a five-year break from playing and recording to raise his young son. “It worked out well because there are songs that I had for a long time that I always kind of set aside. It was like, ‘Oh, this could be really good, but it’s not done yet.’ Almost all of them were like that.”
The opener “Circuit City” is a bouncy castle of ’80s synth pop that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Soft Cell record. “Recursive Excursions” drips with the narcotized seduction of Warhol-era Velvet Underground. Uhlhorn hands over vocal duties to Elyssa Worley for “LV MCHNS,” which beeps and bloops to sound like a long-lost Ladytron song.
The varied soundscapes reflect Cloudland Canyon’s varied discography. The band started in the early 2000s, when Uhlhorn met Simon Wojan, who was, at the time, touring with King Khan and the Shrines, the frenetic soul revue fronted by Arish Ahmad Khan. Uhlhorn, a Memphis native, was living in New York, and Wojan was in Germany. “He started coming over like every six months and we’d just work on music all day. Then we’d mail it back and forth before email was capable of doin’ that. It was really hard to do. We would record on like mini discs and stuff.”
Those recordings formed the backbone of Cloudland Canyon’s first album, Requiems Der Natur 2002-2004. Wojan plays on several tracks of the new album, as do other Uhlhorn collaborators such as Sonic Boom from Spaceman 3, former Panther Burns drummer Ross Johnson, Lahna Deering, Zach Corsa, Justin Jordan, and Memphis Flyer music editor Alex Greene. Despite all of the personnel changes, Cloudland Canyon’s songs flow smoothly into one another, making for an album that rewards repeat listening. The centerpiece “Future Perfect (Bad Decision)” floats away on an irresistible refrain, “Come on and make a bad decision.”
When it came time to put together a band to play the new songs live, Uhlhorn tapped longtime friend Graham Burks. “We’re friends. We grew up going to the same elementary school, and Kip and I came up through the Antenna, punk rock and all that,” says Burks. “I found my way into electronic music, and Kip was doing similar things. We were both in the Memphis hardcore scene and went on to play in bands with a bunch of synthesizers. We’ve just kind of always stayed in touch and had common interests. Then we had kids at the same time and we’ve just always been kind of weaving in and out of each other’s lives.”
Rounding out the band is Corbin Linebarier. “Kip was kind of piecing this record together as he’s getting back into music and then he’s got this record and he’s got this great opportunity to play in Austin,” says Burks. “We all play in bands that use similar technology footprints, between what I do with Loose Opinions and what Corbin does with General Labor. We thought it was gonna be kind of a pain to put these songs together, but it came together pretty quickly.”
“It sounds better live than it ever has,” says Uhlhorn.
On Saturday, August 5th, 9 p.m., Cloudland Canyon will play a rare Memphis show at Bar DKDC with General Labor and fellow synth enthusiasts Optic Sink. Uhlhorn says his recent return to form has been rejuvenating. “Once I started doing it again, I was like, ‘I can’t believe I just didn’t do this at all for so long!’”