| The Shadow I Remember | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Cloud Nothings |
| Cover: | The Shadow I Remember.jpg |
| Released: | February 26, 2021 |
| Studio: | Electrical Audio, Chicago[1] |
| Length: | 32:08 |
| Label: | Carpark, Wichita |
| Producer: | Steve Albini |
| Prev Title: | The Black Hole Understands |
| Prev Year: | 2020 |
| Next Title: | Final Summer |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
The Shadow I Remember is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cloud Nothings. It was released on February 26, 2021 via Carpark Records.[2]
The album was recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois, with record producer Steve Albini.[3]
On October 13, 2020, Cloud Nothings announced the release of the new album, which they had written while in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
The first single to be released from the album, "Am I Something," was announced on the same day as the album details.[3]
On November 17, 2020, "The Spirit Of" was announced as the second single.[4]
The band released the third single, "Nothing Without You," on February 3, 2021. In a press release, lead vocalist Dylan Baldi said the song "explores both the negative and positive aspects of dependency, whether it be on a person, a place, an object, or nothing at all."[5]
The Shadow I Remember was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 77 based on 13 reviews. At AnyDecentMusic?, the website gave the album a 7.3 out of 10 based on 10 reviews.
Writing for AllMusic, Heather Phares gave the release a 4.5 out of 5, explaining "The Shadow I Remembers compact, hooky outbursts are just as potent as the slow-burning epics on Cloud Nothings' other albums. They're so seasoned that they can shift from bouncy to crushing and back again in a blink on "The Spirit Of," or whip through a dramatic buildup, blistering choruses, and a radiant coda in 90 seconds on "It's Love." In a review for The Line of Best Fit, Ben Lynch gave a mixed review for the album, noting the music is "typically replete with hooks and furious one-liners", and the band should "reassess once more before they head into the studio again."