New Reviews- Posted Chronologically
Earthology is just beginning the process of posting reviews. This is a very small sample of reviews we had submitted to us in digital format. Hard copy reviews will be converted to web format and posted shortly.

Cloud Cult - "They Live on the Sun"
Richard Thomas - Reader Weekly
8/28/2003

Cloud Cult is a moniker behind which operates Craig Minowa, a musician, environmental activist, and "Earth Watch" columnist for the Reader. His indie label Earthology Records will be donating all its profits after expenses to environmental charities. In February of 2002 his two-year old son Kaidin died in his sleep from a previously undetected heart condition, and this album is largely a memorial.

They Live on the Sun has been a hit on national radio charts. (Not everyone may interpret it the same; an enthused radio station music director in Ontario, who apparently hadn¹t read the liner notes, gushed, "We just love it, it¹s such a fun album! Is that your little boy talking in a couple of the songs? He's so cute, I bet you both will be doing music together for many year s to come!")

Craig and his musical contributors (including drummer Dan Greenwood and cellist Sarah Young) plan to go on a national tour this fall, doing "a mini-Woodstock on Wheels," with a multi-media theatrical performance, activist booths, artists, and performers. Also in the fall he¹ll release another album, Aurora Borealis.

Check out Cloud Cult's new album (this is their 3rd) called "They Live on the Sun." It's a strange CD, some songs are nutty and electronic, and some are absolutely beautiful acoustic pieces. Craig Minowa (lead guy) wrote the album as homage to his 2yr old son that passed away, and sometimes samples his son's voice. Listen to the album in that context, and it can be a really emotional ride. The label site is Earthology and you can always catch me spinning them on my radio show at WUSM, Collge Radio for South Mississippi.

Cloud Cult - "They Live on the Sun"
Planetary Group 7/7/2003

A brilliant dedication to singer/creator Craig Minowa's deceased 2 year old son. Blending philosophical metaphor, hopefulness and struffle into a catchy grab-bag of Amazon wailinng, abrasive acoustic, samples of answering machines, baroque piano, electro beats, and his son's voice. We dig tracks 1,4,6,8,16,21.

Cloud Cult - "They Live on the Sun"
Review by Mish Mash Indie Music Reviews
6/23/2003 - Issue #53

This is a semi-solo project by Craig Minowa, and the sound reminds me a little bit of Jane's Addiction, mixing pop structures with whatever happens to be on hand. In this case, it ranges from hip-hop to trance to world music, with just a dash of U2. Yet, it all comes together in the end. The end result is like a super-abstract painting which can be looked at from just about any angle.

Cloud Cult - "They Live on the Sun"

Review by Thomas Rehbein of Clear Channel and http://www.kangaroo-attack.com
5/30/2003

Cloud Cult is the brainchild of one Craig Minowa w/ the help of his friends. Musically, it's difficult to define because it borrows the best elements of several genres that have little to do with each other. Yet, Cloud Cult marries them almost flawlessly. The songs are quirky and strange, though infectiously catchy. Starts and stops w/ bizarre interludes and suprises abound. There are acoustic guitars, cello, clunky piano, electric guitars w/ strange tones, electronics, drums, drum loops, whistles, hand drums, and all sorts of stuff used on this.

Lyrically, They Live on the Sun is joyful in it's fairytale-like images and settings and also extremely mournful; Minowa lost his 2-year-old son and this album is where he unleashes his demons. I sense that this work was quite a catharsis for Minowa and the others involved. This is a solid release because out of 21 songs. I think this album would please fans of quirky indie groups like The Flaming Lips or Modest Mouse, though Cloud Cult in no way rips those groups off. This cd was the best surprise i've gotten in a while. Check them out: www.earthology.net (tommy)

Cloud Cult - "They Live on the Sun"

Review by Josh Lukkes - Blue Skunk Companion
05/07/2003

I've heard of people crying when they've seen masterpieces. I was never one of them until Saturday. A CD popped into my mailbox that I couldn't wait to hear. It was the newest release by Cloud Cult, entitled "They Live on the Sun." Never in the history of Rock and Roll has an album's title been such a direct contrast to its content - they may live on the sun, but the album is all moonlight with candles, booze and a piano, dark beyond description, beautiful, intricate, wailing with grief, sometimes guttural, sometimes a sweet windchime on a spring night in May.

"They Live on the Sun" is an extended epitaph to Craig Minowa's son, Kaidin, who died Feb. 23, 2002. Every song deals with this in some way or another, providing a gut-wrenching look into death and its corresponding anger, grief, fear, blackhole vortex of anguish. It is not an easy album to listen to. But upon listening to it, there is much to love. The music is inescapably catchy, hooks piled on hooks piled on tempo shifts, melodies, atonal cacaphony, all blended with a healthy dose of fuck you and love.

The album is as complex as any contemporary piece of classical music without compromising its integrity as a great Rock and Roll album or seeming trite. Particularly harrowing are the songs "Took You for Granted" and "Sleeping Days PT 2." "Took You for Granted" is a beautiful string and drum arrangement overlaid with Kaidin speaking I love you's and goodbyes, Minowa's lyrics pleading, angry, crying out and sniffles, a cry for help with one hand in heaven and the other on his heart, "I can't help but say they've taken away the biggest think I care for. I live in the black. It's a simple fact, I'm here but I'm not aware." In "Sleeping Days PT 2," Minowa scratches out his wavering lyrics encompanied by an old, out of tune piano.

The original "Sleeping Days" is a shimmering, gushy love song to his exwife written ten years ago that skirts the fine line of kitsch with its flowery imagery of tree nymphs and daisies. Not so with Part 2, a grounded, hard look at the death of Kaidin and its aftershocks of emotion and the desire for an afterlife more beautiful than this world, more perfect than any tree bough or blue sky, "I'd like to think your sleeping in a safe little bluebird's nest and I'll protect your memories with the dragons in my head." Not easy, not fluffed, but more honest than a drunk cowboy song or a preacher on Sunday. In all, "They Live On the Sun" is a must have album, the musical equivalent of hanging a Picasso in your living room.

The music is as complicated as its subject matter, garbled into a pile of bones and voices at times, at others you can almost feel the clarity rip through you. I can now say I've joined the ranks of those that have wept openly at a pure product of creative genius and raw human emotion.

Thanks Craig Minowa, your ability to craft simple elegance makes your pain my pain, your loss my loss, your hopes and fears my hopes and fears. I pray that your player piano doesn't stop anytime soon.

Cloud Cult - "Who Killed Puck?"

Review by Barret Chase of Ripsaw News
5/16/2001

Who Killed Puck? is a concept album, in the tradition of the 1970s pseudo-progressive bands Pink Floyd, Rush and Styx, owing something to Supertramp and Kansas as well. And although Cloud Cult may stand on the shoulders of those bands, it manages to update their sound while eschewing most of their silly pretentiousness.

Who Killed Puck? starts off powerfully with the ultra-catchy “Where it Starts,” a sort of mind-clearing radio single which sets the listener up for the heavy-duty angst to come. The song is initially surprising, due to singer (and just about everything else, for that matter—Cloud Cult is basically a one-man band) Craig Minowa’s shockingly clear, almost feminine voice.

The lyrics are also surprising, weaving in and out with dexterous wit: “I found God in the back of my head, too scared to even talk to you but dreaming you would marry me. I found God in the words of Steve Miller: ‘I really like your peaches, wanna shake your tree.’” After “Where it Starts,” the album quickly moves into familiar concept-rock territory, telling the life story of a lone prophet who cannot fit in with others, eventually discovering that fitting in is evil.

Making use of retro samples and mucho studio magic, the songs mainly attack the brainwashing that we all suffer through advertising and social conditioning. Individual standout tracks include the acoustic ballads “Pretty (She Can Save You)” and “Sane as Can Be,” which showcase Minowa’s voice, and “6 Days to Madness,” a phatly beated electronic groove reminiscent of the Orb’s “S.A.L.T.”

Cloud Cult - "Who Killed Puck?"

Review Source: Amazon.com
January 2003

From the first song on the album "Where It Starts" the honesty and purity of the the singer's voice are striking. The music and the lyrics are layered and complex, but still accessible. Upon each listening, more and more messages unfold. Some tracks are about emotion, others about our relationship with the natural world, and others combine both.

The album reads like stories, a slightly more wise man looking back at his childhood and teenage years, with confusion, climaxes and resolutions--however, each track can stand alone and there are no easy answers. Best tracks are "Where It Starts" -- this one combines a catchy, cool musical hook and truly clever lyrics that juxtapose the inane with the deep, like "I found God in the words of Steve Miller, really like your peaches wannna shake your tree" to "I found God on a Wednesday afternoon, drinking boxed wine and wishing you would call me." "Becoming One Of You" is a searing and angry self-reflexive remark about how his peers didn't accept him, but he is ultimately disgusted by their conformity and in retrospect is grateful to not be one of them who "rip down rainforest trees to build mahagony desks . . ." "Sane as Can Be" starts as a stripped and beautiful guitar/cello love song, but like all the tracks, it's not that simple.

The track "Ready to Fight" is almost an anthem, reprising some of the earlier themes on the album. While there is no one else doing what Cloud Cult is doing, the album reminds me a bit of Heather Nova's _Oyster_ in the lyrics and moody musical changes and The Cure's _Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me_ for the same reasons. But like all works of art, it will mean different things to different people. I recommend this album highly as there is really nothing else like it out there.

Cloud Cult - "Who Killed Puck?"

Dan Haugen- MN Daily
08/20/2001

Four years in the making by University alum and Duluth resident Craig Minowa (a.k.a. Cloud Cult), Who Killed Puck? is an extremely ambitious and well done concept record chronicling one person’s life from conception to the afterlife. In-between is a tale of alienation, drug use and mental illness in a society of reckless consumerism. Musically, Cloud Cult’s sound ranges from melancholy, acoustic lo-fi (“Conception,” “Pretty”) to gothy-synth-pop (“Close,” “Ready to Fight”) to audio collage (“Ad Brainwash”).

Minowa’s songs show a green consciousness, but generally avoid being preachy. Instead of one-dimensional fundamentalism, they have an honest human weakness (“I’m giving up my philosophy/for a six pack of beer and a bag of weed” on “Sane As Can Be”) and a sense of humor (“I found God in the words of Steve Miller/Really like your peaches/Wanna shake your tree” in “Where It Starts”) along with his progressive themes. Who Killed Puck? is strange yet familiar; introspective and universal; intelligent but human. —

Cloud Cult - "Who Killed Puck?"

Todd Newton - Reader Weekly
04/19/2001

"Who Killed Puck?", the debut release of Duluth, MN-based Cloud Cult, has revived what had become an abused and misunderstod concept (concept albums). A true rarity, each of the fourteen tracks contained herein is capable of an individual existence, while remaining an integral component.

"Where It Starts" building a repetitive yet delicate vocal line provides the necessary introduction. "9 Months", a thought provoking dissection of birth on a molecular level, continues with earnest. "Ad Brainwashing" yields disturbing statistics regarding the media, aid in the creation of a clear and concise overall picture. Other standouts, including "Becoming One of You" and the title track only add to a unique and wonderful recording. In a word, stellar. Cloud Cult has captured an essence so many others have failed to grasp.

Cloud Cult - "Who Killed Puck?"

Kyle Eller - Duluth News Tribune
4/18/2001

Idealism is a funny thing. Lots of folks scoff at it--people calling themselves pragmatists--but without idealism, we'd have nothing to shoot for. Idealism and idealists give us direction with their passion and their commitment.

Welcome to Cloud Cult's "Who Killed Puck?"-- a concept album that tells the story, from conception to death of an idealist.

Puck, a character named for the care-free forest spirit in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream doesn't fit in with the modern world. His gut tells him the consumer-driven world is wrong, that the drive for conformity is stultifying, and that the Earth is being assaulted by these values. The further one takes that, the more lonely the island becomes. In the album's liner notes, Puck writes, "I'm hitting a point where if I go any further left wing, society will banish me completely for being intolerably radical."

Cloud Cult, which is environmental activist Craig Minowa, Eduardo Vaz on percussion and Sarah Young on cello, cranks out a mixed sound. Under it all pulses a strong indy rock sound with a magic mix of punk and folk influences. The album's lyrics are intense and take no prisoners, reflecting the passion of a true idealist. They rail against the pervasive, almost omnipresent influence of advertising and against the twisted priorities that make extreme actions seem "normal".

All of this is punctuated by artwork, philosophical quotes and environmental essays in the liner notes. "Puck" is a provoking album instantly familiar to those who are a part of the quixotian fight to lift this world into the ideal.

Atticus Finch - Self Titled Album

Silke Tudor - San Francisco Weekly
2/2/2000

It is the hope of Atticus Finch that its performances open with a reading of poetry, not surprising for a group whose own words sit within sighing parentheses framed by lush orchestral curtains, all drawn with the precision and detail of romantic poets. "I reach for the lantern and carry myself from the train ... hand to the tunnel wall I felt the truth in the clay," intones the luscious voice of Chris Moore-Backman under a rolling swell of snare and the dripping caress of violin. This is the sound of rainy nights spent inside crumbling Victorian walls painted in burgundy and gold.

The Shade Project

Cake Magazine (Minneapolis) - CH -Volume 11- Issue 40
December 1995

Tribal, yet classically influenced. The heartbeat of this album is in the minimalism it gives the listener. Yet don't get me wrong, this album is thick, layered to the point where everytime you listen, there is a new sound or instrument to be heard. It's nice to have a change of pace from the atypical Minneapolis thing. Thank you for giving us all something to reflect and relax with, while we toil in our everyday lives, waiting for the chance to listen to this album once we return home. Nature calls me on this one. Let the leaves rustle through your veins and the cold wintery smell of burning fires light your passion through this epic of sanctity.

The Shade Project

Inferno Records Music News - Mark Murtha
Fall 1996

From the moment I put this album in, I knew it was no ordinary project. The album opens with "Dreamed Shore", a Gabrielesqu excursion into tribal rhythms and sampling. The music draws you in and flows smoothely from one cut to the next. "Away" begins with an outdoor evening ambience and melts into a catchy acoustic ballad. Other songs include "Gone", which is one of my favorites, about a child who finds a dead bird and learns the meaning of death in a touching bittersweet way.

To give you an idea of the diversity of sounds on this album, here's an excerpt from the liner notes: "Instruments used onthis album include violin, upright bass, bongos, various rattling devices, flute recorder, wood flute, acoustic six-string, electric guitar, bass guitar, milk cartons, beer bottles, macaroni salad, neighbor kids, hollowed out bull horn, drumset, an assortment of foods and liquids, tongues, fists, lips, skin, and whatever else was available at the time."

The entire album has a very theatrical feel, and is very visual. I would be surprised if this guy isn't picked up by a major label or featured on a movie soundtrack in the near future.

Earthology in the News:

4/20/2001 - EARTHOLOGY RECORDS, A NEW DULUTH-BASED NONPROFIT, PRODUCES EARTH-FRIENDLY ORIGINAL POP MUSIC