Cloud Nothings: "Who knows, maybe we’re monks?"

The band's fourth outing sees more of a melodic edge than their previous efforts. "In my mind, we’ve always been writing ‘pop’ songs, since day one," he continues. “That’s always been my goal, so maybe the fact that with this one so many more people say it sounds more catchy it just seems like I’m getting better at writing pop songs?”

It’s certainly worth the wait. The moment you set eyes on the cover - featuring a vast oceanic space viewed from the coast, perfectly complementing the highs and lows found within - you understand that ‘Life Without Sound’ is a wander through the larger aspects of life. Dylan explains: “I started thinking about things that were bigger than just like, ‘I’m depressed’ or ‘I’m sad today’. I started thinking about the world a little bit more. My actual place in the world." One example can be found on the album's aptly titled finale, ‘Realize My Fate’: “I believe in something bigger / but what I can’t articulate / I find it hard to realise my fate / An eternal seeing clearer / a mind, a fear of being blank / I find it hard to realise my fate."

Vocalising such grand ideas is no easy feat. Dylan found some help in someone whose ideas resonated with him: “I got really into this writer, Peter Matthiessen, he helped found the Paris Review. He’s pretty important, a really great writer, and also a pretty intensely studying Buddhist. I was intrigued by a lot of that while making this record, and I think that comes across in a way. I wouldn’t say that I am religious, but I was fascinated by that man and his take on a lot of things."

It would also appear that a connection like this hasn’t gone unnoticed, as Dylan describes an interaction he found himself in recently. “There was a real crazy monk that my friends know. He used to sell drugs to Dinosaur Jr in the nineties, somehow he’s still around, but he came up to me at one of our shows and was like, ‘So… I listened to your record, and all your lyrics are… you know, I think we have a lot in common. You should come to India with me and help my friends build the biggest temple in the world." Through laughter, he says: “I was like ’Uhhh no? Thanks for the offer, though, man’. Who knows, maybe we’re monks?”