Cloud Nothings are gaining a reputation for reformation. From the ashes of their 2017 album titled Life Without Sound came 2018’s phoenix: Last Building Burning. Their heaviest, most intense album to date is as gritty as it is anthemic. Dylan Baldi’s growling vocals serve as the focus, grounded by punchy guitars and relentless drum work that energize the entire album. Last Building Burning represents a fairly significant genre departure – so distinct that it begged the question, how will fans receive the heavier sound?

Cloud Nothings paid a visit to The Sinclair in Boston last Friday in promotion of their new album. At the start of the show, Weeping Bong Band silently took to the stage with a pensive and ambient multi-instrumental piece featuring spoken word and bowed guitar as fans milled and gathered. Canadian indie rock trio The Courtneys took stage next to a full and eager crowd. The Courtneys offered a dreamy and effortless performance, led by singer-drummer Jen Twynn Payne. Their charming, aloof style drew in the attentive audience, who bopped along to every expertly crafted pop number. The band invited jokes about their irreverent T-shirts – Koke’s sporting a “Tyvek” logo and Payne’s from a bagel shop in Montreal.

The juxtaposition between The Courtneys’ carefree sound and Cloud Nothing’s raw intensity was stark. Stage lights warmed from blue tones to a fiery red and white strobe as Cloud Nothings punched out the first song, “On an Edge.” They coursed song-by-song through the new album with a raucous energy, substituting banter for eerie, ambient, black metal-inspired musical interludes that kept the crowd at a steady smolder.

Drummer Jayson Gerycz shattered a drumstick as a pit emerged during the new single “In Shame.” The audience chanted the chorus along with Baldi (“They won’t remember my name/I’ll be alone in my shame”), fists high in the air, hot with a simultaneous powerlessness and anger reflecting the tone of Last Building Burning. After a solid performance of the new album in its entirety, the band brought out a few old favorites, including “Stay Useless” and “Wasted Days,” which played well against the crowd’s rabid energy. Banter was kept to a minimum – the music spoke for itself.

The show was an intriguing blend of energies, from the instrumental flow of Weeping Bong Band to the delightful, easy-going attitude of The Courtneys, and finally the ferocity and ghostliness offered by Cloud Nothings. The crowd’s fire grew as the night progressed, culminating in an inferno indicative of catharsis and a night well spent. If there was any question about how Cloud Nothings’ new sound translated to fans, the exhilaration reverberating through Friday’s show gave a definitive answer.

See below for photos from the show (in order: Cloud Nothings, Weeping Bong Band, and The Courtneys):