Life is evanescent and puzzling, seldom sitting still for long (like the cloud). Occasionally, stretches of time may appear to float by in a light, airy fashion (cirrostratus); but sometimes, trouble sets up camp directly above you and gives you a good, prolonged dousing of bullshit (nimbostratus). But life seldom resembles an enormous, majestic, white, floating anvil (cumulonimbus).

Now that we've addressed the album title, however obliquely and dismissively, I feel ready to move on.

Well, then! In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the demise of KRS-One's career, I'd like to serve you some boogie-down style "edutainment" today. Consider, if you will, the following contrasts.

Population
Cote D'Ivoire: 16,393,221
The Ivory Coast: 5

Life Expectancy
Cote D'Ivoire: 44.93 years
The Ivory Coast: [insert joke of your choosing]

Capital City
Cote D'Ivoire: Yamoussoukro (official), Abidjan (unofficial)
The Ivory Coast: Boston, MA

Form of Government/Head of State
Cote D'Ivoire: "Democracy"/Laurent Gbagbo (seized power in coup, October, '00)
The Ivory Coast: Committee/Jay Cox (vox, gtr), Nick Hubben (bass), Drew O'Doherty (gtr, vox), Scott Craggs (there's an ointment for that; synth), Mahmood Shaikh (drums).

Natural Hazards
Cote D'Ivoire: heavy surf, no natural harbors, torrential flooding during rainy seasons
The Ivory Coast: an over-reliance on their influences, and an uncomfortable imbalance between admiration and flat-out mimicry.

Exports
Cote D'Ivoire: cocoa, coffee, palm oil
The Ivory Coast: highly enthusiastic, synth-laced indie-pop reminiscent of certain aspects of Polyvinyl labelmates Rainer Maria, coupled with the production values of another Massachusetts indie outfit, the Swirlies, and betraying an obvious hankering for the feel of Modest Mouse's last full-length. Oh yeah, and the vocalist comes off like a low-budget version of Edsel's singer trying to sound like Superchunk, with a pinch of Ben Weasel.

External Debt
Cote D'Ivoire: US$13.9 billion
The Ivory Coast: Incalculable debt to Vanessa Downing of the great, defunct Wicked Farleys for her vocal contributions to tracks 6, 7, and 10, and a lesser debt owed to Jeffrey Goddard of Karate for blowing his horn (trumpet, actually) on track 8.

Historical Overview
Cote D'Ivoire: I don't want to read your hate mail any more than you want to write it.
The Ivory Coast: The quintet released The Rush of Incoming Traffic in 2000 on Big Top Records, a full two years after it had been recorded. Thus, they had a couple years of honing their songs and their shtick before defecting to Polyvinyl and releasing this sophomore effort, Clouds.

Conclusions
Cote D'Ivoire: a sure bet to supplant the United States as the global hegemonic power.

The Ivory Coast: the outlook for this New England five-piece is not as certain. Clouds is without a doubt a solid album. High points include "Five Little Graves," a sparse, spacy, sing-songy ode to love gone sour that recalls early Seely; "Sixty-Five Percent" a late-80s-style straight-up rock song that degenerates into an electronic outro like something off Depeche Mode's Violator; and, a short charming acoustic short entitled "To My Brilliant Wigmaker," which boasts the album's best vocal line and chord changes.

Nevertheless, there are certain prominent problems. Though vocalist Jay Cox is adequate, and sometimes better than that, his singing is the band's greatest shortcoming. His melodies would be better suited by a fuller, more in-command vocal style. Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Cote d'Ivoire's father of independence, was said to have a booming voice. Cox's, by comparison, is brittle and wavering. Will these indie popsters do right by history? Only time and their third album will tell!

-Camilo Arturo Leslie, September 21st, 2001