Customer Reviews

Twice

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an exellent album. Song number one sets up a great record from start to finish. The surf city type songs are a little over the top, but they still fit in well with the entire album. This is a refreshing and original album, during these hard times of musical slop. If you're looking for something that is pleasing to the ears and interesting, then I suggest you buy this album. If you're not familiar with Beachwood Sparks, then I suggest you look into them too. They have three albums and they're all great.

"Best Intentions" is a great tune with solid lyrics. Remainder is bland. Comparisons to Lou Reed in other reviews are fanciful. Best thing I can say is you don't need to fast forward much, these songs roll along in mediocrity.

What an incredible gem of an album this is.I can say the same for their debut album 'Once' as well.What The Tyde have done is take influences such as Lou Reed, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions and alt-country influences like Wilco and merged them into a coherent whole.
I believe that this band consists of Rick Mench (ex-Velvet Crush) on drums and three members of Beachwood Sparks including two Radomaker brothers.
It becomes very clear from the start that this band can write tunes.Not just songs that sound the same but songs that stand out on their own as individual pieces of work.
The album starts brightly with the Dylan-esque 'The Loner'.There is lovely keyboard and acoustic guitar sound throughtout and overall it's very pleasant.
Next up is the gem of the piece 'Henry VIII'.It's like an outtake off Lloyd Cole & The Commotions' 'Rattlesnakes'.The guitar work here is SUPERB as is the songwriting.I love the way it's a song about drugs but it doesn't sound one bit depressing ! It takes a skilful songwriter to get this right.
'Go Ask Yer Dad' is next and it contains some lovely buzzsaw guitar work.The vocals are very Lou Reed/Lloyd Cole sounding again and the song is up to the standard of the previous two.
'Best Intentions' is a very slow, quiet song but it has a big heart.Darren Radomaker sounds more like Reed on this song than any other but it really doesn't sound like a parody.It's actually fantastic and the vocal sounds really emotional.
'Crystal Canyons' is another gem.Very upbeat in tempo but downbeat lyrically.Excellent keyboard and guitars here as well.This one reminds me of Aussie band 'The Church'.
"Takes A Lot Of Tryin'" is Dylan-esque as well.'Memorable Moments' is another gem - like a mix of Dylan and Lou Reed.
Of the rest of the album, my own favourite would be 'Shortboard City' - the poppiest song on the album after 'Henry VIII'.It's very like the Beach Boys or even Supergrass in style.

Overall, this is an exceptional album.The songwriting is superb as is the musicianship.
There is something very sad at the heart of this album but like all classics, it doesn't get too bogged down in it's melancholy.

I can't speak too highly of this album....

Los Angeles-based quintet The Tyde have managed to avoid the perilous sophomore slump on "Twice." The album is chock-full of pop goodness from the first to the last drop, and easily surpasses the promise shown on "Once," the band's debut. Singer/guitarist Darren Rademaker shows himself to be more than a mere '60s California rock disciple on tracks like the rousing "Go Ask Yer Dad" and the Lou Reed-ish "Henry VIII." Other standout tunes include "Best Intentions" and "Crystal Canyons," both of which are dominated by swirling quasi-psychedelic keyboards. The band occasionally missteps: "Takes a Lot of Tryin'" suffers from an overdose of Santana, while the surfer's paradise of "Shortboard City" amounts to a Beach Boys novelty tune. Overall, however, this is a fine album that will retain its playability when the summer turns to fall.

The Tyde are a new psychedelic group who seem fascinated with Arthur Lee and Gram Parsons. This group is supposed to be like some offshoot of the Beachwood Sparks. Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre and a member of The Warlocks are involved in the production. That means there was a lot of drugs in the studio. There is a feeling of sunlight and the nearby beaches. So this is a true LA record. It has the grit of the Hollywood Hills in the grooves. It feels very relaxed and pacific. It's good to have a group of good songs and some people who believe in them. I caught The Tyde live by accident. They were the opening band at a show. They have catchy songs. They seemed obsessed with the 1970s. The Tyde mix slow songs, much like the Velvet Underground, with some upbeat material: "Shortboard City" recalls some of the later Beach Boys. Every song, in fact, seems like some pastiche of some favorite band of the past. Super Furry Animals did a record like this a few years ago. You wonder if the band is paying tribute or is just flaunting their influences. Beauty is always important. The Tyde made be greater than I can tell.

In all honesty, this CD didn't blow me away on the initial listen. It's been steadily working its way into my heart- first I played it as happy, poppy background music. Then I happened to catch "Best Intentions" on random in my I-pod, and I was struck by its yearning melody. It's a stunner of a song-- a beautifully composed melody backed with just the right emotional pitch in the lyrics. There are other songs on this album that will make you shimmy-shimmy ya, some songs that are meant to be played in a top-down convertible, but this is the one to hear on an overcast day on an NYC fire escape...while you're feeling nostalgic for a time and place that never existed. This is a really good album, it's just like the sunshine--you gotta let it in.

I haven't heard too many thoroughly consistent cd's so far this year.I was giving up hope, until I saw this on 45 at Virgin Megastore.It was a 7inch of Go Ask Yer dad/Blood Brothers for $2.
I listened to the cd at a listening station, and ended up buying the whole cd too. This is a cd i will still be playing in 30 years.It is introspective without being too folky or boring.It has a Byrds/Dylan feel with a modern twist to it.More rooted in the past than the Strokes and Coldplay, this cd has the summery-feel that Steve Miller-type bands did in the 70's.I find it sad that this cd will probably not do too great because radio stations are so clueless they will not touch this.If you find a station(NON-SIRIUS) that plays this,call them and tell them how great they are-so they will breed other stations to follow suit. The best tracks are Loner, Go Ask Yer dad,Henry 8,New D,and Memorable Moments.Shortboard City sounds like a BeachBoys-with a Doobie Brothers-piano tune.Overall, an excellent listen to new music fans, or people who have liked music for 30 years like myself.P>S I wish they'd put the whole album on vinyl, not just the 45, so I could hear this without all the midrange running together which is unfortunately the biggest problem with cd's.

If you didn't gather it already from the beach-scene art on the cover, or perhaps their name, this CD is like listening to a summer day. Though some of the band hail from the alt-country group Beachwood Sparks, the overall sound is more Cali pop than anything else. The songs are perfectly catchy without being annoyingly so, and Darren Rademaker's voice supports the tracks superbly. It's a good, cohesive album where every track works, although my personal favorite is the opener, "A Loner." This is a perfect summer CD, and will also be a good album to perk you up come winter. Better than putting a conch shell to your ear.

At least as good as their previous effort 'Once' (see my review). More or less, another helping of the Tyde's trademark neo-psychedelia. Never been able to figure out if the Tyde is a side-project for Beachwood Sparks or if it's the other way around. Either way, 'Twice' is worth checking out - looking at the asking price here. You can't go wrong. Tunes I was most impressed with were the catchy "Henry VII", "Best Intentions", "Takes A Lot Of Trying" and "New D". Any of you familiar with Asteroid No.4? They put out a CD sort of like this one, called 'Honeyspot'.

Feel good surf-infused alternative rock from people who obviously know what they're doing. If you're tired of the same ol' same ol' then check out this record and the other two (Once and Three's Co.) by The Tyde. After a couple of listens they became a mainstay in my cd players and ipod. The Tyde is also a great live band, check out their my space for upcoming shows as well as cd's and cool merchandise.