Tides - You'll Never Change

by Malcolm Carter

published: 23 / 9 / 2006

Label: Select Label
Format: CDS

First release in the Pronoia label's new monthly 'Singles Club', which comes from their latest signing, Manchester-band the Tides, whom draw comparisions with the early Delays

Review

Not to be confused with American band the Tyde it’s obvious where label Pronoia and this Manchester band are coming from. The CD single is packaged like a 7” vinyl single even down to the CD being black and having grooves just like in the old days! The five piece are no 60's obsessed band though, at least not obviously so. In fact although the band thinks that lead singer Liam Pennington sounds like a meeting between Thom Yorke and Anthony and the Johnsons a more fitting and true comparison would be that of the Delays' Greg Gilbert and that comparison is also true musically. As the Delays seem to have lost their way a little with their second album, 'You See Colours', maybe it’s no bad thing that we have the Tides. Pronoia Records have released this CD single as part of their ‘Singles Club’, the idea being that each month they will release a single from a new band signed to the label. This is the first release under that plan. The label couldn’t have picked a better place to start really. As already mentioned some thought has gone into the presentation and as at the end of the day it’s the music that really matters by choosing these two songs by the Tides they are certainly going to attract a lot of attention. Coupled with ‘You’ll Never Change’ is ‘Fall’ which in those good old days would be relegated to the B-side of the single. So it’s good that these days we don’t have to get up to change the single over as then we might not have bothered to listen to ‘Fall’ and we would then miss out on a song that is just as good and in some ways stronger than the A-side. For as good as ‘You’ll Never Change’ is, and it’s an excellent piece of indie-pop, all chiming guitars and heartfelt vocals and in Pennington they do have a vocalist who demands your attention, but ‘Fall’ has the stronger tune and Pennington’s vocals are more effecting plus those guitars don’t stop ringing all the way through the song ; it really is too good to be classed as a B-side. All in all an outstanding release which sets a high standard for all future Pronoia Single Club releases.