Illinois Entertainer
July 2000
Sunny Day Real Estate
The Rising Tide
(Time Bomb)
Rating=4
Ah, SDRE, we hardly
knew ye. First they astound the world with their 1994
sonic assault debut Diary (Sub Pop), then some members go off and become Foo
Fighters, then lead singer Jeremy Enigk quietly discovers Jesus, then they
get back together (sans bassist Nate Mendel, still a Foo) and release a few
lackluster records. Their latest, The Rising Tide (and their first non-Sub
Pop release), is not about to have their former fans clamoring.
SDRE's strength was
always dramatic tension, an ebb and flow in their music
that continually surprised. Now we've got heaps of drama, but not so much
tension. Whether Enigk is getting "Killed By An Angel" or disappearing
into
the sun in "Disappear," his emotional level has dropped, so now
you no
longer believe him, and the formerly bombastic music doesn't convince you
either. Enigk sounds most earnest singing "Everything and everyone/And
in
the end we all are one" on "One," which makes you think that
his Christian
days are not so far behind him. But the result is like a sonic fortune
cookie, and about as substantial.
Bright spots for Sunny
Day's future: the English pop sound and quirky lyrics
of "Television,"
some interesting sound snippets of kids on a playground, and on "Snibe"
they
almost recapture the strength of their past. Almost.
Reviewed by Gwen Ihnat
(As a side note, they gave the new Britney Spears album a 5)