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It's a good thing that beach-loving, surfing, music-makers The
Tyde wanted to record an album dedicated to providing a soundtrack
for their trips from Echo Park to the beaches of Orange County, because
that's precisely what they've done. Their third full-length album
(cleverly titled Three's Co. after their previous releases,
Once and Twice) does exactly what the band set out to do,
nothing more and nothing less.
The Tyde includes three members of the band Beachwood Sparks,
and this release, interestingly enough, features Mickey Madden
(bassist of MTV favorites Maroon 5) and Conor Deasy
(lead vocalist/guitarist of the Irish acoustic pop group The Thrills).
Aside from these cameos, Three's Co. is not very memorable.
It opens with "Do It Again Again," a nice little pop ditty
with jubilant guitars, keyboard fuzz and dreamy female vocals to echo
lead singer Darren Rademaker. During their finest moments,
The Tyde bear a strong resemblance to a variety of important artists.
"Brock Landers" vaguely suggests a Pavement influence,
while "Glassbottom Lights" sounds a bit like a down-tempo
Sonic Youth track. I would even go out on a limb and say that
Tom Petty came to mind while listening to "Ltd. Appeal."
The unequivocal highlight of the album is "Separate Cars."
Rademaker's voice begins to sound moody and slightly tormented with
the sorrowful tune of the flute playing in the distance, but his lyrics
suggest a kind of resilience with the words, "I've keep every
promise/I've put extra step in my stride to be clear in your eyes/I'm
drowned in your worry/I'm up for a fight." It is Rademaker at
his most convincing, most profound, and clearly his most tortured.
But let's not lie to ourselves: tortured art is most often the greatest
art.
The rest of the album is far from tortured. It consists of beachy
pop tunes ("County Line") complete with synchronized clapping
("Too Many Kims") and often shallow lyrics ("When you're
dreams have let you down/I'm the one who's still around" in "The
Pilot"). Tracks like "Aloha Breeze" will especially
have listeners wanting to grab a ukulele and a Corona, and hit the
beach with Rademaker, just like he invites them to do. Three's
Co. is a nice record, and not just in the sense that it sounds
nice; it acts nice and it plays nice. It's a great driving-down-the-highway
record because it barely skims the surface, both musically and lyrically.
Rademaker and the boys are probably satisfied with the head-bobbing
and finger-snapping outcome of this album, and in the end, that's
what counts. But it would be nice to see The Tyde go a little bit
deeper on their next release. Hopefully they won't be afraid to play
dirty. I know they've got it in them.
-Allegra Willis
Track Listing:
1. Do It Again Again
2. Brock Landers
3. Separate Cars
4. Too Many Kims
5. Glassbottom Lights
6. The Lamest Shows
7. Ltd. Appeal
8. County Line
9. Aloha Breeze
10. The Pilot
11. Don't Need A Leash
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