Minus Tide

Album review

When Brooklyn-via-San Francisco indie trio Lemonade released their self-titled debut full-length in 2008, the band was an oozing, lawless organism pumping out dance-minded, post-punk-influenced semi-improvised fits of rhythm and noise that felt like a rave being taken over by acid-crazed record nerds. Their sound changed rapidly, morphing over the course of 2010's Pure Moods EP and 2012's full-length Diver into more tropical, sample-friendly electopop. Third album Minus Tide follows this trajectory even further into synth pop territory, still basing their tunes on intricate rhythms but eschewing the tribal feel of their early work for the more tropical electronic pulses that drive every song. The glittery synth arpeggios and four-on-the-floor rhythms that drive standout tracks like "Orchid Bloom" call back to Lemonade's more organic approach to their deep house influences in their earlier days. Likewise, the airy vocal samples and sun-kissed grooves of "Come Down Softly" are cut from the same cloth as the kaleidoscopic chillwave tunes from Diver. While there are still trace remnants of the Lemonade of the past throughout Minus Tide, they've all but abandoned the wild-eyed dance-rock sound of their early days, and these more electronic-leaning tracks are built around a set of pop sensibilities far stronger than anything the band has mustered before. While this far more polished version of Lemonade is barely recognizable when held up to their earlier incarnations, their more developed aptitude toward hooks, melody, and intricate dance production makes Minus Tide a much more memorable -- and in its own way, equally visceral -- listening experience.
© Fred Thomas /TiVo