This is an alright review of The Rising Tide. I personally think that the
album should have gotten beyond a 5, but that's just my opinion.
wes
p.s. I got really really bored at work so I decided to type the whole thing
out. Boredom.
In my radio: The Gloria Record, "A Lull in Traffic"
SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE
The Rising Tide Rating: 3
"Even withought the mystery, Sunny Day Real Estate are still
fascinating on their fourth studio album.
What a difference two years make. In 1998, Sunny Day Real Estate's reunion
was one of the most highly anticipated happenings in underground music, and
for good reason: During the short time they were originally togehter,
Sunny Day released two seminal emo albums (1994's Diary and 1995's
posthumous LP2) that were as grand as the mystery in which the quartet
shrouded themselves. But soon the excitement wore off--1998's How It Feels
To Be Something On proved to be much less magical than the first two LP's,
they finally broke their unexplained silence, amking themselves available
for photo shoots and interviews, and '99 was capped off with a lackluster
live release. It was nice to have them, but nothing about Sunny Day seemed
very special or enigmatic anymore.
"Now in 2000, they've done it again, ditching Sub Pop and releasing
their fourth album, The Rising Tide, on the unromantic Time Bomb label.
Recorded as a trio--Jeremy Enigk on vocals, guitar and bass, Dan Hoerner on
guitar and William Goldsmith on drums--The Rising Tide, with its beefed-up
production and relatively more straightforward rock, seems at first to be
yet another sad step for the band toward complete normality. However, in
time, the 11 tracks begin to expose their subtly complex beauty. Musically
and lyrically, the songs are, as usual, heavy and emotional, and perhaps
the darkest and most dramatic in their discography--Enigk, with his wild,
amazing range, ahs never souded as ominous as he does on "Killed By An
Angel" and "Snibe." But first impressions can be deceptive, as elsewhere
on the record Enigk finds ways to sneak in some optimism, and despite an
attempt to enlarge their sound to fill arenas (the U2 influence is obvious
on "Television"), Sunny Day still are capable of pulling you into their
uplifting, hypnotic world--especially on the elegant "One," the dreamy "The
Ocean" and the driving "Fool In The Photograph." The second honeymoon may
be over, but the idea of growing old with Sunny Day Real Estate now seems
kind of comforting." (Time Bomb) Mark Hawthorne
