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Cloud Nothings, the full-band outgrowth of Dylan Baldi's teenage songwriting efforts, have been labeled "fuzzy power pop", "freewheeling sludge rock" and even an "answer to Foo Fighters' 'Everlong.'"

But to the 23-year-old Cleveland native, Cloud Nothings are just a rock band. That's what he tells the border patrol agents when crossing into Canada for shows, at least.

"I don't know what else I would call it," Baldi said. "It's just, like, songs. I don't know. We're a really loud folk band."

Guitarist and singer Baldi, bassist TJ Duke and drummer Jayson Gerycz have toured throughout North America and parts of Europe. Tonight, they bring their spirited rock sound — or whatever you want to call it — to the Lost Horizon. Detroit punk band Tyvek and Popular Music, a Perfect Pussy side project, are scheduled to open the show beginning at 7:30.

Baldi conceived Cloud Nothings in Cleveland in 2009 as an outlet for his lo-fi songwriting. Since then, the project has expanded, with Baldi adding Duke and Gerycz to the live shows as well as the songwriting process. All three members have spent most of 2014 on the road in support of their latest album, Here and Nowhere Else, which Carpark Records released in April.

The biggest difference between touring now and playing gigs two years ago when the band first reached critical attention, Baldi said, is his recognition of the audience's expectations.

"I feel more responsible at the shows than I did then," he said. "When that was happening, it was just like, ‘I guess we’ll play, and I don’t know what’s going on here,’ but now I feel more like we have to be very good."

Baldi doesn't take that responsibility lightly. He spent his 23rd birthday this past August playing a show in Paris, but afterward, he stayed away from French grandeur, simply grabbing a few drinks and heading to bed. How responsible.

"Once you turn 21, there’s nothing cool left to look forward to at all about getting old," Baldi joked. "Might as well just have a normal night and go to bed."

In print, Baldi might sound bitter. On record, he sounds downright furious. But over the phone, he's calm, affable and even joyfully enthusiastic. His happiness, driven by a realized dream of writing songs and performing them in packed music halls and panoramic festivals, is palpable.

Given his band's scrappy sound, they'd be expected more in a club or a basement show, and Baldi said he still prefers a smaller crowd. Still, there's a downright surreal element to the festival scene, he said, and while it tripped him up in the band's early days, he appreciates it now.

"I used to think [festivals were] the weirdest thing, but then, I had a day where I was like, ‘Oh wait, not everyone gets to do this,'" Baldi said. "Now I kind of like festivals for the spectacle of the whole thing."

Tonight's show at the 400-person Syracuse music hall is far from a festival. But, as Baldi said, it should still capture the essence of the band as a trio playing off of each other in unexpected, animated ways.

"It’s actually more fun to do it in that way rather than me playing everything and masterminding things because that gets boring and kind of lonely and weird," he said. "It’s nice to have this thing that you created with two other people."

When Josh Grabelle attended Syracuse University in the mid-1990s, he knew nothing about the music business. He had grown up seeing New Jersey punk and hardcore shows and had even hosted one in his parents' basement, but the industry itself was a distant fog.

By the early 2000s, however, the record label he'd begun only years prior signed with Sony Music Entertainment. A career helping bands in the metal and hardcore realms achieve noteriety was born.

Grabelle, who founded the Bullet Tooth label and publishing company, spoke on campus Thursday night as part of the Setnor School of Music's Bandier Program Soyars Lecture Series. During his talk, he focused on the winding road that led him to that current position.

After graduation, Grabelle's friends reached out to him with music-related opportunities that could benefit the primitive label he'd created called Trustkill. He kept saying yes - hosting shows, putting out records and even touring with some bands to sell their records on the road. But a career in music seemed murky, Grabelle said, and at the prodding of his parents, he headed back to SU for law school.

Three years later, the law jobs came calling. Grabelle opted for music instead. Sony began financially backing his label, allowing Grabelle the means to finally provide his bands with a stable infrastructure.

"That was pretty exciting for me to give bands a real shot in the business," Grabelle said.

As exciting as the industry may be, its fickle nature eventually prevailed. Trustkill left Sony when Universal Music Group made a better deal, but soon found it less than hospitable.

"You think you have a family. You think you have a team, but the turnover rate is so high. That's the story you're going to hear with major labels," Grabelle said.

That's when Bullet Tooth, which currently boasts 10 heavy music artists, was born. Grabelle said he intentionally keeps the roster lean in order to help each individual band build its own career. One of those bands is Cleveland-based Affiance, who have built a reputation on intense live performances and viral music videos.

In one clip, the band members actually light themselves on fire. That's how important getting noticed in the web community is in today's music industry, Grabelle said. The stunt may very well land the band's next record high on the charts — at least, that's the current prediction.

Throughout his talk, Grabelle commented on the uniqueness of the Bandier Program, which helps train music-minded undergraduates in marketing, business basics and entrepreneurial skills.

"We didn't have anything like that when I went here. You guys are really lucky," Grabelle said.

Syracuse University is about to get a visit from Mr. Universe.

Jim Gaffigan, the stand-up comedian best known for his sardonic musings on parenthood and microwaveable frozen treats, will perform at Goldstein Auditorium Oct. 25, University Union announced tonight.

Tickets for "An Evening with Jim Gaffigan" go on sale at 9 a.m. tomorrow at the Schine box office. They're $5 with an SU/ESF student ID.

A 20-year veteran in the comedy realm, Gaffigan starred in the TBS sitcom My Boys for three seasons. He has written and performed four stand-up specials, the most recent of which, Obsessed, aired in April on Comedy Central. His 2012 album, Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe, was nominated for Best Comedy Album at the Grammys.

The pudgy, plain-faced Gaffigan has also written two books, Dad is Fat and his latest, Food: A Love Story, which delves into a topic he knows well.

Even casual Gaffigan fans are probably familiar with his deep passion for eating, best exemplified in his highly clickable bit about Hot Pockets. Watch the video below and just try to look at frozen foods the same way.

This time last year, two tunes sat deadlocked in the battle to achieve the coveted "song of the summer" title: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell and "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk, Nile Rogers and Pharrell. Though both utilized undeniably catchy hooks and leg-shaking rhythms, "Get Lucky" emerged the clear winner, especially given Thicke's unfortunately misogynistic way with words. (The real winner, of course, was Pharrell himelf.)

Our 2014 song of the summer, though, was clear right from the middle of May when it began blowing up. Whether you call it trendy, swanky or just plain fun, it's important to call it what it is — fancy.

While the rest of these picks didn't clinch the top spot, they're all worthy in their own ways. Just give a listen to find out why.

5. "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone

Yes, this song came out in 1974, but 2014 saw it creep back into the pop culture parlance thanks to a little space dance by Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Quill's mixtape was stuffed with '70s pop gold, but none capture the essence of summer quite like "Come and Get Your Love." Just try to deny the call-and-response "hey" vocals and the bouncy, singalong chorus. No, seriously; try it. That's right. You can't.

4. "Do You" by Spoon

Spoon came back with a vengeance this summer after a four-year absence. Nowhere is this more evident than on "Do You," the propulsive fourth track from the band's excellent new LP, They Want My Soul. Complaints about not being able to dance to this song are just plain wrong. In fact, "Do You" harkens back to the age of jukebox rock 'n' roll where this was the only thing you could dance to. Shake your hips, shimmy your shoulders and enjoy.

3. "Can't Do Without You" by Caribou

You might sleep through the early part of this song, and it would be understandable. But you'll want to wake up around the three-minute mark to hear the way Caribou's Dan Snaith resolves his mess of warbled, loopy vocals into a grand neon carousel of Day-Glo club fury. "Can't Do Without You" is like so many lazy summers spent sloppily on the couch, procrastinating until late August when school's imminent approach beckons you to cram an entire season of fun into a few days. Doesn't that always make for some lasting memories?

2. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" by Future Islands

Released in snowy winter and now comfortably receding into autumn, "Seasons" is as time-spanning as its title suggests. The song hit its highest peak after a spirited March appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, but the band rode that wave well into July. Synth pop today has better practitioners, though few have made the passing of time sound as funky and fun as Future Islands. Samuel T. Herring repeatedly sings, "I've been waiting on you," but it was really us that were waiting on a song like this.

1. "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX

Cultural appropriation aside, what self-respecting music fan can resist Ms. Azalea's jumbo jet-sized swagger? At first, the blonde Aussie's urban dialect seems to make her a paradox. The song, however, speaks for itself. Booming bass, resounding title hook, invincible attitude — the ingredients are all here. Let's give props where props are due and say "Fancy" wouldn't strike as hard without Charli XCX's astounding chorus delivery. But I-G-G-Y delivers the goods in the verses, landing punch after punch of the kind of hip-hop hubris typically reserved for the boys (Nicki Minaj aside). Cher Horowitz would be proud.

We realize that our ultimate windows-down tunes might be totally different than yours. So, tell us: What was your favorite song of summer 2014?