[acidjack is getting a new iPhone soon, and with it, he hopes to take at least somewhat better photos]
You may have noticed that we don’t post recordings by bands that we don’t like. Therefore, our reviews are almost uniformly positive – which may make it difficult at times to tell the bands we think are really good, and the ones we think are, well, just good. I hope to clear up any confusion about how I feel about Tidal Arms – these guys, who have been around for less than a year, kick ass. Maybe it was the fact that this show at Cake Shop had lots of good music, but no other heavy bands, and Tidal Arms filled an important void. It could be that, but I attribute my instantly positive reaction to this band to their musical style and the quality of their playing. They are heavy, for sure – loud guitars, pounding drums and driving bass – but they don’t fall into the all-too-common trap of one-song-after-another of what sounds like the same song. Each of their songs, from the slower dirges to the faster numbers, has its own feel, and vocalist/guitarist Tom Tierney mixes up the vocal styles too, with some songs sung and others belted in a metal-ish growl. Tierney is also a studio guy, so the house sound was particularly dialed in for Tidal Arms’ loud set.
Although Tidal Arms are a new band, their members have a varied history going back several years. Tierney and bassist Patrick Southern are friends from college, where they studied jazz and played in an electric blues band. The final piece of the puzzle was drummer Francis Mark, who met Tierney when he stepped in as replacement guitarist for Mark’s previous band, the much-loved stoner metal band Warship. Over time, the band members have played almost everything: folk, blues, hardcore, metal, and indie pop. According to Tierney, Tidal Arms now represents the music these guys truly want to make.
Tidal Arms have two shows coming up: July 24 at Vibe Lounge in Rockville Center, NY and August 14 at The Studio at Webster Hall. You can also download their new single, “Flooded Meadows” for free (temporarily) on bandcamp.
This set was recorded in the same manner as the Miracles of Modern Science recording, with ceiling-mounted DPA omnidirectional mics and DPA cardioid mics in the audience. Due in large part to the strong house mix, this recording is even better than the MOMS recording. You can stream “Flooded Meadows” from this show below, and the MP3 downloads are properly tagged for importing into iTunes. Enjoy!
Stream “Flooded Meadows”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/T7601TidalArms2010/TidalArms_FloodedMeadows.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Tidal Arms
2010-06-17
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA
An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com
Equipment: DPA 4021+DPA 4061>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: 4021s 6ft from right stack, A-B; 4061s mounted at 3? split above stage
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify/balance channels, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC Level 8
01 Several Circles
02 Wooly Pictures
03 Flooded Meadows
04 The Sun Exploding
05 [tuning]
06 Social Landlord
07 Hair and Teeth
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Tidal Arms, attend their shows, visit their MySpace page, and check out their new single, “Flooded Meadows” which will shortly be available as a 7? and is currently available for free download to the first 500 people who get there on the band’s bandcamp site.
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