Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Tidal Sleep - S/T LP


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     I would be lying if I said reviewing this record had been easy for me. I have been listening to this thing non-stop for days, sitting here wringing my hands in front of the keyboard, trying to come up with something to say that might help differentiate these songs from so many other screamy, Post-Rockish Hardcore songs. The problem is, I don't think it's possible. Now, I don't want you to think that means I have anything negative to say about The Tidal Sleep. Quite the contrary. This record does all the right things. It builds and surges and whispers and yells and gives me goosebumps in all the best places. I have fallen in love with this band over the last week and am completely certain they will rise through the pantheon of legendary bands to reach the sorts of heights that a band like Envy have reached. There is so much naked emotion swelling under the surface here, it is hard to believe this is the band's debut album. Layer upon layer stripped away until you feel the bare, cold truths laid out in front of you like so many missed opportunities. It takes some bands years to develop this sort of well-rounded and fertile persona. It almost feels like these guys have been playing together for a decade or more. I am completely inspired and excited to see where The Tidal Sleep take us next.
     The whole point I was trying to make in that first paragraph was that you, the readers of this blog, the listeners of these bands, you are going to make your own decisions whether or not you enjoy the music I am recommending. I could rattle off band after band after band that have had a hand in influencing The Tidal Sleep and this sound in general. I could talk about a million obscure bands that some of you have never heard of, will never hear of. Hopefully, most of you reading this have been as deeply entrenched as I have in the discovery of whatever kind of underground you want to label this. Punk and Hardcore has been such a personal, life-altering thing for so many people. Just knowing, there are STILL bands like The Tidal Sleep out there, playing their fucking hearts out every night, sends a chill of satisfaction up and down my spine that rivals the best narcotic highs the world over. I want nothing more forever. This is Life.
     The Tidal Sleep are from Germany. They have only been a band since 2011. They play Hardcore with the same razor-sharp precision that made bands like Frodus and Twelve Hour Turn so powerful. There is a confidence in these songs that rivals what Funeral Diner were doing in their most on-target moments. Yaphet Kotto, Sugartown Caberet, Mihai Edrisch... All very favorite bands of mine.  I can safely, and without reservation, add The Tidal Sleep to that list. If you know of and enjoy those bands, you shouldn't have a problem getting off on this record.




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