Artist of the Day: Cloudkicker

Cloudkicker couldn't possibly have a more fitting name. It screams importance and properly captures the effect that Ben Sharp has had on the do-it-yourself Bandcamp community. The man started off with a penchant for Meshuggah-inspired metal riffs that showed instrumental prowess, and has lately even dabbled into acoustic outings, namely on the easygoing Let Yourself Be Huge. All the major ground's been covered by Cloudkicker, and he certainly sets the bar for musicians having a go at it themselves.

That album artwork is pretty damn promising, at least.

Album Review: Cloudkicker - Let Yourself Be Huge

Album Rating: B+

The ways an artist can mature and develop usually could result in a drastic change in the fanbase's view of the artist, depending on the scale of the change. Many times an artist will step completely out of the realm of what they are even remotely adequate at creating, which could result in varied reception, either praising the artist for their versatility outside their genre or bashing them, rejecting their new sound and claiming that they should have stuck with what they were best at. On Cloudkicker's latest release, Let Yourself Be Huge, the mathy mastermind Ben Sharp comes completely out of left field, but at the same time sounding just like he did on his previous album Beacons. And although Let Yourself Be Huge shows Sharp dropping almost all of the heaviness he previously displayed in his music, it is still very apparent that this definitely is, in fact, a Cloudkicker album.