Tides
From Silence (2006)
Brian Shultz
I recently wrote a review of Disappearer's self-titled debut / pseudo-reissue where I pissed off one forum member by describing it as 'instrumetal,' which as you know by now is more or less metal-influenced post-rock/instrumental. It was 3 songs of this style in the vein of Isis and Pelican, and overall I think I did a decent job conveying what it sounded like. With Tides' From Silence EP, I could basically just link to that review and I'd be set.
Unfortunately, I have a sort of unspoken minimum word count for the reviews here, so I'll attempt to describe it in more detail.
Another reason I won't simply link to the other review is that despite Tides' more economic approach (or rather, more minimal release offering, as I'm considering this an EP since it just eclispes 20 minutes; fortunately the label agrees with me), the band just doesn't seem as developed as Disappearer. Sure, they're most definitely drawing from the same elements, but Tides seem to put you to sleep in a different sense -- you know, the bored kind. This doesn't necessarily prevail for the EP's entire duration, but it seems like they just run out of ideas at many points, often slipping into repetitive territory.
That's not to say From Silence is purely snooze-inducing. It moves, twists, and contorts its way through its 20 minutes, and it's worthily observing at its best, passively uninteresting at its worst . "The Sight" has an effectively creepy wail emitting in the background, but its finish involves a buildup that's so slight it barely arcs, the same of which can be said for "Unveiled." 11-minute closer "In Their Arms" is a notch more effective, hustling along at a good flow, mixing up the bold riffs a bit more, and offering soothingly haunting ringing of the atmospheric variety in its latter fifth.
Tides' From Silence is certainly promising, but it definitely isn't close to its genre leaders. Hopefully the band can develop their songwriting to the point where they've put enough parts together to create several complete, strong songs, because there's already a few acts more than capable and already leading the pack.