The Greater Tide| Posted February 02, 2011
While Attalus is new to the music scene, the North Carolina-based quintet proves to be a promising band. Their debut, The Greater Tide EP offers an appealing alternative rock sound that can best be described as Thrice meets House of Heroes.
Attalus will keep listeners on their toes with frequent change-ups in style and rhythm. Take the second track "The Rich and Poor." On the verses, it encompasses a crisp, fast-paced drum beat, sizzling guitar riffs, and a faint piano motif that graces over top of it all. The chorus takes a slower rhythm and melancholy chord progressions, putting the focus on the hook-laden melody. Another musically intriguing track, "Behind Your Eyes" starts full but quickly strips down to a simple, piano chord progression and a driving kick drum. The song builds momentum as instruments are added back. During the bridge, vocalist Seth Davey shows off his upper range, which is strikingly similar to that of Matt MacDonald from The Classic Crime.
The lyrics are just as attention-grabbing as the music. The Greater Tide isn't a concept album per se, but there are a few songs that have a "sea" theme. One such song, "Message In A Bottle" tells a metaphorical story of a man surviving a shipwreck to demonstrate the beauty of grace, "And I don't know why I survived. I too deserved to die/But Providence has turned His eye/Grace has chosen me to stay." The title-track is about people who have died for their faith. Seth explains in an interview that the song "represents [his] admiration for those individuals."
The Greater Tide is as solid as debuts come. The production is a little rough, but this is a minor detail. From the impressive guitar work and complex rhythms to the thought-provoking lyrics, Attalus sound more like seasoned pros than newbies. This is definitely a band to watch.
The Greater Tide| Posted January 14, 2011
Attalus is a new, Indie Christian band that shows great promise. Do they avoid the dreaded "poor quality indie cd" curse? Yes, they do, and quite well.
To start things off, a track with a distorted, but pretty piano plays. It's a nice intro that starts things off well.
"The Rich & The Poor" is the first complete tracks. This track reminds me of House of Heroes, but Attalus definitely holds their own! I love this song start to finish, the music is amazing. This song is all about how "Good guys get the short end of the stick" while rich but evil men seem to have it all. Then he realizes that the rich man never really finds happiness. What profits a man if he gains the world, and loses his soul? One of the best lyrics in this song is "It's not what we have without, it's what we have within." I love the lyrics in the song as well as the music. Attalus is definitely a very talented band musically, vocally, and lyrically.
The third track is called, "Behind Your Eyes". It's another rocker, and a good one. I've got to say, these guys are pretty creative, not content just to have the "normal" track setup. They experiemented, and it paid off! However, I couldn't find any lyrics for this song, so if I get any wrong, I'm sorry! The main message that I get is how we all have demons and problems, yet God still loves us, and will never cast us off. This song gives us a great message of hope and love, and some pretty good music too! Love the outro on this song.
"One Defining Spark" was the first Attalus song I heard, and I liked it immediately. Through the lyrics we find a hard heart, who has built up walls against God and others, but God's love is "Strong enough to break the hardest heart, deep enough to leave a lasting mark, Brave enough to fight the devils of the night, blinding them with one defining spark!" The bridge is also one of my favorite lyrical parts. So far, I haven't heard a song I don't like.
Fifth on the EP is "Message In A Bottle", which tells the story of carefree men who thought they were God, then, disaster struck. They found out they were mere men. All the men died except one, the storyteller. "And I don't know why I survived, I too deserved to die, but Providence has turned His eye, Grace has chosen me to stay.....Grace was still a greater tide" This is a beautiful song, one of the best songs lyrically I have ever heard. This song starts out as a ballad, then crescendos into a beautiful song of redemption. I'm extremely impressed by Attalus. The vocals and music on this album have been outstanding!
"The Finest Hour" is next, and continues the theme of God's love changing hearts. The message of this song is to reach out and show love to those around us, and accept it ourselves. "Life is a moment, Love is our finest hour" is such a thought provoking line.
Unfortunately, there is a last song. The title track "The Greater Tide" closes the album out. It's almost like "Message In A Bottle" part two. The song starts out with the story of the men who died, although, this is a warning. "Their minds were set, their hearts were brave, they kept their promise to the grave." This song is sort of their biography. As they died, they realized they had been wrong, and cried out to God, who brought the "Greater Tide". The chorus then changes to " O come hear the tale, and stand amazed, at those who dance upon the waves, their minds are free, their hearts are safe, upon that sea, beyond the grave." This was a beautiful song of forgiveness and redemption.
Overall, this is one of the best albums I have heard in a long time. Several times, when you hear "Indie Band", you think, "Oh, poor quality music and medicore songs." Take one listen to Attalus, and you will NOT say this about them. "The Greater Tide" has some of the best music and lyrics I have ever heard. I'm definitely impressed by the amount of talent and skill these guys have. This is an album I'll recommend to everyone, as it contains well written, uplifting lyrics and music that measures up to and even beats some of the top Christian artists out there.
to add lyrics if not listed.
