Tides is one of those bands that feels like they’ve been around for a long time, but that’s far from the truth. The members themselves have been around in various projects; the band only came into existence late 2023. If ‘How to Survive a Fall’ is your first introduction to the band, I wouldn’t blame you if you find yourself wondering why their older records are so hard to find. Yet, this is their very first full-length, with only their split with the now-defunct Golf War in 2023 as older material.
Having moved from New York to Florida myself, the guys in Tides have become part of the ‘local music scene’, one I’m still exploring in this region. They’re definitely one of my favorite current bands on the North/Central Florida circuit, and I got lucky that they bonded with the Northeast scene almost immediately; I’ve even had the pleasure to see them play during a trip to New York with my friends in Something Bitter last April. I’ve been looking forward to this record, so let’s dig into it!
Starting off with the title track ‘How to Survive a Fall’, it becomes clear that Tides isn’t here to explore new ground, but to set down their own version and mixture of the sound that influenced them. For this song specifically, it’s impossible to not immediately think of Ways Away in the opening. The song has enough of its own sound, and enough different parts to it, to stay interesting even after multiple listens. Strong vocal parts, riffs that tell stories of their own, a chorus dripping with the feeling of nostalgia, and basslines that are actually allowed moments to shine instead of staying hidden in the mix, all ending in the feeling of nostalgia yet willingness to keep going.
The first half of ‘Collapse’ feels heavier, and I’m almost getting some Propagandhi-esque vibes from the first half of the song. This then quickly moves, and upon its second half, the influence of Touche Amore becomes overwhelmingly visible. Where the song starts feeling like protest, it evolves and ends into the feeling of longing.
Next up is ‘My Own’, and again, Tides plays with the influences they got. On my end, I’m feeling Samiam meets Nothington here. The song has a more poppy element to it than the previous two whilst avoiding pop-punk territory. It’s in the small yet smart riffs, in the pacing of the drums, the way the elements of the song work together. It’s interesting to see how the band moves between these styles without the record feeling like one big experiment; it’s clear that the members have been around for long enough to know what they do and don’t like themselves.
Of course, being a Florida band, Tides grew up with Hot Water Music. This gets made very clear on ‘Undertow‘, which almost feels like an ode to them. It makes for a good single, but it’s weaker, or maybe less creative, than most other songs on the record, heavily leaning into the influence instead of what can be done with it. The song feels finished at the 2:30 mark, but instead there is a bit more dimension added to it, which at that point feels a bit forced; making the guest vocals from Christine of Little Low feel out of place on this song — which is a shame, because it’s not bad at all.
We’re back to the post-hardcore notes on the intro of ‘Dave’, one of those intros that immediately drags you into the emotional landscape of the song and keeps building up on that. The emotional landscape I’m entering upon this? Resentment. Though the song would have benefitted from more dimension in the vocals, this is one of their strongest examples of setting down an emotion and sticking to it on one song. The outro specifically grabs that feeling by the throat and keeps dragging it to the end.
One of the shorter songs on the record is up next with ‘Seconds to Last’, an acoustic song done on an electric guitar, feeling more like an interlude than a song that can stand on its own. It brings to mind the kind of mornings you wake up and regret it immediately, almost sad, mostly just over it, and all you can do is go through it and wait for things to get better.
With ‘Seconds to Last’ feeling like an interlude, it really is a shame that the next song, ‘All This Time’, doesn’t seem to acknowledge that at all. It would make you wonder about the placement, but that’s easily forgotten, because ‘All This Time’ is just so damn good. This is melodic punk at its best, with heavy leanings on both Ways Away and Hot Water Music again. It’s fast. It’s got the melodies. It’s got the strong hooks. It’s got different emotions in the vocals between the verses. This is one of those classics, and there’s never too many bands writing their version of classics.
I’m not quite sure why I’m getting this, but ‘Calculated Loss’ reminds me a bit more of a classic punk rock song. Coming in at under 2:30 minutes, it leaves the bulk of the melodies behind and trades them for urgency. There’s not a lot happening in this song, and that is one of its strengths.
The same cannot be said for ‘Dead Leaves on Main Street’, where Tides seems to have decided to just try everything all at once. The issue most bands in this genre suffer from also hits Tides here; there’s a lot happening, and yet it all starts feeling a bit same-y. This is especially true on longer songs, and the long sample on this song does not help with that. Now, I’m quite outspoken against samples in music; they need to feel intentional and not add extra baggage to a song. This is one I know I’ll find myself pressing next ten seconds into the sample, which is an absolute shame, because the outro that follows is one of the best things this record has to offer — why is this not the record closer or at least the second-to-last song?
We’re moving from the best outro this record has to offer to the best intro it has on ‘Maybe’. The vocals setting the tone. The bass and guitar building it up. The drums as a countdown. The full melodies that hit it. This song is also a prime example of what makes a good mix; every instrument has its job and time to shine, and nothing overshadows anything else.
‘It Stops Here’ is the aptly named closer on the record, and Tides is back to leaning into their melodic hardcore influences. I’m hearing a mix of Comeback Kid, Koyo, and again, Ways Away. There’s a strong “written for live performance” energy on this song, but that is what a good outro should do. I’d still think ‘Dead Leaves on Main Street’ would have been a better outro here, with this song leaning more into the energy than really feeling like it’s closing anything.
For a first full-length, this is a fantastic record. The elusive Jim described it as “if Western Settings was from West Babylon and grew up listening to Pipedown“, which is as niche a comparison as we can get, and tells you a lot if you do get it. Tides is one of those bands that knows what they like, enjoys playing around with that, and pulls it off without sounding like a tribute act; keeping their own sound. That’s a rare place to be in as a band, especially on the first record, and I’d recommend ‘How to Survive a Fall’ to all fans of gruff-punk and melodic hardcore.
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