Standing on a windswept mountainside, rain hammering down, trying to sketch the shape of clouds as they shift and dissolve. That’s the scene South East London’s Cloud Studies conjure in their new video for “Cloud Cartography,” which we’re premiering here today, March 13, 2025—just a day before the single drops via Happy Robots / Cargo Records.
It’s the band’s second release, following their 2024 debut “Ghosts,” which racked up over a million views on Instagram and TikTok. This time, they’re diving deeper into a hazy mix of shoegaze and dreampop, pulling from the likes of Slowdive, Stereolab, and The Cure.
The track itself is a sprawling, atmospheric affair. Adam Cresswell’s ethereal vocals float over layers of reverb-soaked guitars from Adrian Taylor and Martin J Langthorne, while Nat Guest’s tight, insistent drumming keeps it grounded.
“Sonically the song presents a panoramic, full-spectrum wall of sound,” the band notes in their press release, and they’re not wrong—it’s a thick, dreamy wash that feels both vast and intimate. Recorded between Nan’s House Studios in Liverpool and Bellasonic Sounds in London, with Toby Campen mastering, it’s a polished step up from their first outing.
Cloud Studies came together in 2024 when Adam, the singer and bassist, teamed up with Martin to mess around with their “large arsenal of effects pedals.” “I’d been making synth music for about 10 years,” Adam says, “and was doing pretty well … but I needed guitars back in my life.” After a stint in Ireland’s remote Derryveagh Mountains, surrounded by “mountains, neolithic monuments, ruined churches and wide-open skies,” he returned to South London itching to craft something “haunting and panoramic.”
“Cloud Cartography” was the first song he wrote for the band, setting the tone for their sound. It’s about “trying to make sense of a constantly changing world,” he explains, where two strangers meet in a library and end up battling a storm to map the clouds—an optimistic, futile stab at understanding chaos. “The hidden message is that it’s about … a constantly shifting world of gaslighting and disinformation,” he adds, though he’s fine if you just hear “a nice song about clouds.”
The band’s journey hasn’t been all smooth sailing. “The evolution of the band hasn’t been the smoothest ride,” Adam admits. He wanted to stick to bass, but after auditioning singers with no luck, he stepped up to the mic. Then, original guitarist Michael bailed two weeks before their debut show, confessing he “didn’t really like shoegaze.” It nearly broke them. “I was close to giving it all up myself,” Adam says, “but Natalie and Martin kept the faith.” Adrian stepped in on second guitar, and things clicked. Now, they’ve ditched jamming for a sharper process: “We each bring half-finished ideas into the studio and it’s so much more productive and fun.”
The video, finished just last night, ties tightly to the music. Martin, who handles the band’s visuals, says he’s chasing “equivalents to the distortion and effects in the songs” while amplifying their themes. Drawing from experimental film, folk horror, and meteorological symbols, he crafts “recognisable but unreal, dreamlike states”—think “indistinct figures swathed in digital noise” haunting liminal spaces. It’s a counterpoint to today’s “hyperreal, processed 4k UHD” sheen, reflecting a world where “identity, culture and society seem to be losing definition and meaning.”
Looking ahead, Cloud Studies have three more tracks in the can, possibly an EP. “Dreams About…” is a jangly, poppy escape about “dropping prescription pills and blissing-out,” Adam’s favorite to sing. “Avenue” is a slow, sad “folkgaze” lament for disappearing trees—he’s sending it to his local council. “Hiding Place,” their set-closer, leans post-punk, tackling “getting payback on a stalker.” For 2025, they’re hoping to build on this momentum, though Adam keeps it loose: “We’ve got three more recorded that we hope might become an EP.”
Adam’s been around London’s alternative scene for years, from indie and dreampop to a synthpop phase he’s glad to leave behind. “There were just too many right-wing bigots” in that world, he says, emboldened by Brexit. The shoegaze and dreampop crowd feels different—“progressive and tolerant.”
He nods to local acts like Toothpaste, who they recently shared a bill with, and The Leaf Library, led by his old pal Matt, as bands worth checking out.
“Cloud Cartography” isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s a solid slice of atmospheric unease—perfect for anyone who likes their guitars drenched and their lyrics layered. The video’s out now, the single’s out tomorrow. Catch it if you’re into that Slowdive-meets-Stereolab vibe, or just curious about clouds that won’t sit still.
