CLOAKZ – ‘Control Program’ [Album Review]

Indie-pop/alt-rock outfit CLOAKZ, the brainchild of Zac Ciancaglini, unveils their debut long player, Control Program, featuring eight tracks of shoegaze and indie-folk blended into a sticky melodic sensibility.

The desire for order in a chaotic world makes up the theme of the album. The title Control Program, as Ciancaglini explains, is a bit of sci-fi fantasy, imagining a quick fix that would allow him to step out of his own life, away from its complications and responsibilities, and automate the process for perfect results.

Ciancaglini says, “In the end… I think the songs on the album are about fighting that impulse to step away, to be numb, to escape, and instead to face life head-on with all of its messiness and complication and difficulty.”

CLOAKZ comprises Ciancaglini (vocals, guitar), Tony Aqullino (bass), Greg Foran (drums), James Keary (guitar), and S. Catoe (keyboards), who, along with producer/engineer Alex Lipsen, recorded the album at Brooklyn’s Russell Street Recording.

Entry points on Control Program include “El Zero,” a hazy, shoegaze-flavored song with yummy psychedelic-tinted textures topped by dreamy, swaying vocals. Catoe’s voice softens the feel of the lyrics, giving them a contemporary equivalence.

For some reason, “All American Man” summons up suggestions of Tom Petty, especially in the intro, and then flows into a SoCal soft, country rock melody. The outro takes on raw sonic rays of psychedelia.

CLOAKZ, photo by Cali Kile

A personal favorite because of its light, pushing motion and gentle vocal surfaces, “This Is It” delivers a Hootie & The Blowfish-like mist-filled light-heartedness.

Merging hints of dream-pop and misty shoegaze, the closing track, “Vacant,” offers listeners an eloquently drifting melody supporting Ciancaglini’s velvety vocals. An extended, momentary bridge leads to a complete shift of textures – going from floating to a heavy, fuzzed-out wall of sound.

There’s a unique, glazed-over blurriness to Control Program that’s simultaneously lusciously nostalgic and wonderfully hypnotic.

Control Program Track Listing:

1. El Zero
2. Dissolve
3. All American Man
4. This Is It
5. Alligator
6. Hate Time
7. Head FX
8. Vacant

Run Time: 28:39
Release Date: August 23, 2024
Record Label: Mint 400 Records