Cloud is a Long Island based project, fronted by chief songwriter Tyler Taormina. The band released their critically lauded debut album, Comfort Songs, back in 2013 on Audio Antihero, and five years later have teamed up with the same label for their second offering, Plays With Fire. The band have just shared their latest single, Two Hands Bound, and today we’re premiering the single’s B-side, Plays With Fire. Making it the album’s title track, even though it’s not actually on the album: confused? We were too!

Thankfully, far less confusing is the frankly sublime music! While the A-side, Two Hands Bound, is the slinky middle ground of Animal Collective and Jonathan Richman; Plays With Fire is an altogether more subdued affair. Gorgeous washes of burbling keys and laid-back sad-core guitar exploration, accompany steady drum beats, and Tyler’s impassioned vocal style. Towards the end the track builds to a thrilling crescendo that Guided By Voices or The Walkmen would be proud of. Moody and downbeat, the track seems to question the hold love can have on a person. Tyler recollects of a relationship that burns with passion but fades in reality, as he initially notes, “I’m too tired to play with the flames, I thought I could but it’s hard for me”, yet throughout keeps on going back. It might just be a B-side, however this is no throwaway moment, it might just be the most intriguing thing Cloud have released to date.

And you can also hear the A-side below while you’re at it…

Plays With Fire is out March 9th via Audio Antihero. Click HERE for more information on Cloud.