I have to admit it. I hadn’t really heard Cave In’s music before I was assigned this EP for review. Always up for a new musical experience, I took the cd and decided to give it a whirl. The press release claimed that they are a constantly innovating band and offered the boast or disclaimer that this EP has a different sound than the group’s previous work. My only other prior knowledge of the group comes from some friends of mine who find the group experimental in a good way, and love their “intensely original sound.” To be fair, then, what I’m saying now might not apply to the rest of Cave In’s body of work. I just wanted to warn my readers to take this review for what it’s worth; it’s a look at this specific EP. After listening, I must say that Tides of Tomorrow sounds much more like a reworking of traditional (for Gen X) rock themes with some original flavor to garnish it. However, I am a fan of alternative rock that dates back to before the genre was par for the course, and hence, is actually worthy of that categorization. Remember the days when the only mainstream rock frontman who sounded like Eddie Vedder was Eddie Vedder? Ah, for the salad days of my adolescence. But, I digress; Tides of Tomorrow hails back to the emotional and electrically distorted music of my headgear-laden youth, but it puts enough innovation into the sound to keep it fresh and enjoyable all the way through.
The formula is one of the most familiar characteristics of the group. We’ve got two guitarists, a bass player, and a standard drumkit. The dominant sound of the EP is that of a poignantly rocking ballad not unlike the way the Smashing Pumpkins sounded before they became a self-parody of awkward rock angst. Cave In, in comparison, straddles the line between whining desperation and aggressive rocking out in a way that is, if not exactly seamless, definitely amicable to listening. Songs like “The Callus” and “Come Into Your Own” demonstrate proficiency for simplistic and forceful guitar driven songs, while the title track and portions of “Calypso” show that Cave In has a slow, introspective side as well. The meshing of acoustic riffs into “Tides of Tomorrow” and also “Everest” is a nice touch that only adds more depth to the sound of the EP. Every instrument has its moments on the EP; there are heavy and central percussions on “Everest” and interesting bass experiments on “Dark Driving” and “Calypso.” The main emphasis is on guitar riffs and solos, but, as I keep stressing, this is a guitar-rock band!
Lyrically and vocally, the EP is also pretty strong. A quick listen to the instrumental parts of the songs will clue an acute listener in to what lead singer Stephen Brodsky is going to sound like, it’s not unpredictable, but it is competent. Brodsky’s eerie and affecting voice talent compliments the music well, but he can also make it angry and gravelly when he chooses. Despite all his rage, Billy Corgan was still a high-voiced fellow, and it seemed that he always had traces of peeved mid-adolescent in his most heartfelt expressions of raw feelings. I realize that I’ve been ragging on the Pumpkins a bit, but it’s all in good fun, I do like a good deal of their work. I’m meisce using Mr. Corgan as an example of a flaw that seems to me to be present in many groups that incorporate pensiveness and viscerality into their music. Brodsky, on the other hand, convinces the listener that he is bearing a dark side through the deeper, more heated verses. For the most part, the lyrics aren’t horribly appealing in terms of subject matter (the drudgery of 8-5 work, alienation, loves songs, etc). However, Brodsky is a competent enough writer that he can use old themes to grab our attention. Clever little puns like “The reality check is in the mail” (Dark Driving) and “All the film has been exposed in my photographic memory” (Everest) belie enough maturity and thought behind the lyrics to render them worthy of contemplation. I’ll disregard intellectual pretense and say that, after a few listens, I still don’t always know what he’s talking about, but that’s probably a mark of sophisticated lyrics right there.
All in all, Cave In’s EP falls well above average for standard rock thoroughfare. If you’re the kind of person who needs any new band that you’re going to devote the energy to learning about to have something radical or completely innovative to offer, you should probably pass these guys by. Their work is differentiated enough that you can’t place your finger on exactly who they sound most like (Live, Weezer, and the Pumpkins were a few that I went back and forth between), but you do have the feeling that they remind you of music you’ve heard before. They borrow from several sources and blend them capably into their own sound, but Tides of Tomorrow is nothing revolutionarily new. Consequently, some of the songs do have a tendency to feel a little drawn out at points. Despite these minor flaws, though, I know I will be looking forward to the band’s full-length release scheduled for some time this month. So, if you’re another jaded mid-twenties listener wondering what happened to the edge in mainstream sounding rock, Cave In is your answer. The mainstream got lame, so Cave In is underground, but they have a tenacity and emotional force that reminds me of why I used to like bands where two guys dressed in black strummed on guitars and poured their guts out. |