Los Angeles-based musician John Cudlip came of age cueing dream-pop records to the beachside backdrop of his hometown in Orange County. He’s a student of the sound — melodic, textured guitar music and a believer that, when honest and real, it can enthrall and facilitate catharsis.
Launder (John Cudlip) crafts the sort of album you could dive into and swim circles around. A wash of sound, “Happening” has a certain depth to it that is rare for a debut, and an effortless fluidity as each song flows into the next. Cudlip decided to fully immerse himself in writing the album, a nearly three-year process that produced about 60 demos, while embracing sobriety and directing all of his “once-destructive addictive tendencies into studio craft,” according to a press release. A wash of sound, the double LP balances a swirl of guitars with Cudlip’s gauzy vocals.
What feels like a relic from the early shoegaze days, the album belongs amongst the likes of Souvlaki and Isn’t Anything (which isn’t surprising since Sonny DiPerri, who also worked with My Bloody Valentine, co-produced, engineered and mixed “Happening“). With lush layers of sound and a cascade of fuzz, Launder is on track to create this generation’s Loveless.
Released July 15th, 2022
The Fat Angel Sings 