Boston's Hydra Head Records has become synonymous with the best and brightest of the early twenty-first century hard rock scene. Boasting a catalog replete with talents like Coalesce, Soilent Green, Converge, and Neurosis, Hydra Head has helped cultivate a slew of formidable acts at a fever pitch, only to see the cream of its crop lured away by the substantially larger bankrolls of major labels. Yet, while Hydra Head's roster runs the gamut from prog to metal, few members of their talented stable have exhibited the sonic versatility of their most recent defection, Cave In.
Prior to departing for the cushy confines of RCA, Cave In dropped a six-track swan song EP entitled Tides of Tomorrow, completing one of the most dramatic genre shifts in modern rock since Radiohead reinvented themselves with Kid A. Laying its noise-core roots from 1998's Beyond Hypothermia and 1999's Until Your Heart Stops threadbare, and softening the space-rock soundscapes of their critically acclaimed Jupiter LP, Cave In have chosen a more radio-friendly approach, reminiscent of ambitious indie rockers like Failure, Hum, and Juno. Combining shades of emo, alt-rock, and pop with intelligent songwriting, Cave In is clearly on the verge of major mainstream success, the kind of popularity thus far alien to the Hydra Head roster.
In all honesty, most of these songs could easily wind up on your local KROQ clone's playlist, up against the likes of Audioslave, Lifehouse, and Puddle of Mudd; with the catchiness of these riffs, the innocuousness of Stephen Brodsky's vocals, and track lengths averaging five minutes, there's nothing remotely intimidating to the casual listener here. Long gone are Brodsky's designs on Tom Araya's vocal stylings: Brodsky's adopted a far more lush, melodic sound, in the vein of David Baker and Black Francis. Adam McGrath's solos are dark and infectious, meandering through Middle Eastern tonalities and metal-head white noise with ease.
Peripherally speaking, McGrath and Brodsky's guitar work is the only visible link to the dearly departed noise-core Cave In of old, shuffling in a mountain of effects pedals amidst the more delicate and refined pop/rock sound. This is precisely why a track like "The Calypso" works so well: it blends an indie rock sensibility with subtle undertones of progressive metal and space-rock, effortlessly. The title track holds an undeniably Paul McCartney hook, suffused with Brodsky's ethereal harmonizing and the nightmarish, pop-perfect intonations of McGrath and bassist Caleb Scoffield. With a texturally rich canvas of elusive shifts and progressions, and the usual slew of Pet Sounds acoustics, Tides of Tomorrow demands multiple listens in order to fully appreciate its creamy aural goodness; much of its technique and character is lost on the casual critic.
Yet, although Tides of Tomorrow excels in its display of musical growth and maturity, much of this seems lost on Brodsky as lyricist, whose metaphors are as sophomoric as ever. His voice also has a pesky habit of straying into that no-man's-land, xFC-metal falsetto. "Dark Driving" is a dreary but solid ballad with strong roots in the early, plodding Seattle metal scene a la Soundgarden. The song is spacious and atmospheric, but Brodsky's clumsy play on words-- "the reality check is in the mail"-- and adenoidal Chris Cornell-meets-Rodney Anonymous timbre is a total disaster. The EP's closer, "Everest", falls considerably short of the majesty of its name: Brodsky's accidental impersonation of Aaron Lewis is almost unbearable.
Despite the many comparisons made between Radiohead and Cave In following Jupiter's release in 2000, Tides of Tomorrow largely rehashes ground Radiohead covered on The Bends and OK Computer over five years ago. This EP won't be nearly as impressive to weathered indie rock fans as to Hydra Head loyalists; it's an album depicting the growth of an adventurous former metal band, yes, but an ultimately predictable record where the means never exceed the extremes. It's also no doubt that many purists will view this EP-- and the concurrent shift to RCA-- as a sell-out of the highest order. Granted, it's an eye-opener anytime a noise-core band attempts to expand its musical dynamic to encompass inspirations like Spiritualized and Poster Children, but it's also impossible to ignore the marked shift toward accessibility and "easier" listening embraced by Cave In since the close of the 1990s.
