No Tide is a no-frills pop-punk band, and its members know that. Hook-laden songs with soaring vocals and snarling power chords lead the Lincoln, Nebraska act’s latest EP Meridian, and that’s a good thing no matter how familiar these words might sound. The difference between No Tide and the rest of the crowd is the band’s self-awareness of its sound, which does wonders nowadays.
At about fifteen minutes, Meridian showcases sweet-sounding singing with fantastic guitar lines (“Forward Eyes”) and awesome, different drum riffs (“Sink To The Bottom”). No Tide knows that the backbone of any successful band is obvious but often forgotten: the music. While not every track on Meridian is a perfect sonic masterpiece, all of the songs do share the notion that No Tide put its hardest effort into this release.
Whereas No Tide excels in its musicianship and effort, the lyrics feel somewhat wanting for something more: “Woke up just fine / and rubbed my eyes. / Feels like they haven’t been open for a while. / I know I’m out / but I’ll keep playing. / Tomorrow makes no difference, now is now”. While the message is clearly about seizing the day and moment for oneself, these lines aren’t exactly profound or engaging enough to really inspire that same carpe diem notion in others.
No Tide is a young band with a few releases and a couple years under its belt. These Midwestern boys have found their sound, yet still stumble with their words. But with the way their sound has evolved from each release to the next, it’s apparent that they’re never looking to stop improving. No Tide is light years ahead of where “the norm” of pop-punk is currently, and that’s an amazing feat to accomplish in and of itself.
Tracklist:
1. Forward Eyes
2. Dragger
3. Wasting Space
4. Crook
5. Sink To The Bottom
RIYL: Yellowcard, old-school All Time Low, blink-182
Rating:
Written by Joe Wasserman
