Cloud Formations

Mikko Singh has been living different musical lives from the start. With 'Cloud Formations', his third album under the Haleiwa moniker, Singh eschews the guitar-dominated sound of his first two LPs for lush but grainy textures. Inspired by bands and songwriters like Animal Collective, Real Estate, and the late Jay Reatard, 'Cloud Formations' is a hopeful record whose experimental approach to rock music calls to mind the experimental pop of Sequoyah Tiger. It's a fusion of fuzzed-out sounds, washed-out sentiments and far-out songwriting, perhaps the only shoegaze record you can actually take along to the beach.