Tidal Rave – Albumette (Fishrider) Album Review

Tidal Rave, Wellington Indie Pop outfit,  drop a very interesting sophomore album that pushes many of the buttons from around the time of the Punk Explosion. Like the stars you see at night, the actual physical elements have long gone but the light continues on. What Pete Townshend really meant when he sang Hope I die before I get old. This is an elixir of life.

The band revolves around the three female songwriters and their meshed guitar sound. Emmie Ellis, Esther Gedye Taylor and Kristen Paterson. They sit behind a muscular male engine room of Frank Eggleton bass and Scott Hakkaart drums. Ann-Marie Keating rounds it out on keyboards. All have kicked around in various other bands and projects with names like Moses, Solo Ono, Sweaty Betty.

Knots. The singer sounds completely Kiwi and old school Punk. Understated but melodic so it is Indie Pop. Minimalist in structure with a tight grounded rhythm section. A little warble of vibrato in the voice. The guitars play in waves of texture. People are starting to look at me/ tied up in knots.

Dial things up a few notches with The Rain. A different voice sings with an ethereal Folk sense. Nice melody so it’s Folk Pop. I’m searching for the light/ Will you come down tonight? / The rain. The guitars take a droning symphonic tone. They have been listening to Tom Verlaine and especially his Television sound. The atmosphere is darker and the singer starts to take on the vocal phrasing of Verlaine as the song progresses.

Surf’s Down has an appealing intro riff and jangles pleasantly. They describe themselves as Surf. If they are, it’s buried deep.

Limmy. A harsher MC5 styled opening riff. More street. The guitars mesh and the girls stir up a witches cauldron of sound. The singer is melodic and restrained and a bit unsettling in the same way Alison Stratton was with Welsh Post-Punks Young Marble Giants.

Living the Dream. With this you notice the craft in the songwriting. Insightful dissecting of relationships with painful honesty. It was plain to see/ You were acting aggressively/ This is what is happening to me/ Is your memory really that bad/ Or are you just having a laugh? They ramp up the energy with a bit more Punk in the Pop and you will pogo in your bedsit rather than waft around.

They keep it coming.

At the Water’s Edge. Take me to the river/ To the ocean/ Drown your soul. A Folk Pop tune which touches on the spirit of the Al Green classic. Transforms into a song of death, elemental water and rebirth. Put a little bit of Punk energy into it to become a minor classic.

Banana is a gumbo mix of many ingredients and sounds quite original. Funny, off-kilter and quirky rhythms matched to simple jangle guitar riffs like the early B52’s. The warbly vibrato is back and accentuates the humour. Lyrics remind me of Chris Knox in his Tall Dwarfs period. I want my potassium hit.

Sandwiched between those two is a good one to discover as well. The Four Season. Buzzcocks Power Pop.

A small gem of an album(ette) sparkling with the energy of that earlier time but sounding fresh. I’d like to hear those three guitars in a live show.

Rev Orange Peel

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