Dendron Records: DDR062 (Vinyl, download)
“Black River and Other Bodies of Water” is the debut release from
psychedelic folk-act Tidebound after a number of compilation
apearances and cd-r / download releases. Tidebound is the solo-
project of Dave Müller, who has a background in heavier and noisier
territory with the bands Black Wreath, Chasing Eudaimonia and The
Eudaimonia Collective, but who, with Tidebound, takes the role of
sole songwriter and vocalist for the first time. The EP features a
number of guests including Laura Noszczyk (Solyara, Aex, Ex-
Machinery of Joy, ex-Yellowish) and Tanja V. Jessen (Distortion
Girls, Flowers of Yes!, etc.). Tanja also recorded and mixed the songs and has added a slightly more polished feel to the otherwise homespun feel and intentionally DIY quality of the songs.
Unlike any other of Müller’s projects, Tidebound has its roots in folk music, but the inspirations that paved the way for his other projects still shine through. These are songs of lost love and hope, distressful desolation, yearning for freedom and the acceptance of solitude; themes not uncommon to the folk genre, The sometimes hazy vocals and the underlying psychedelic instrumentation give Tidebound a sound of its own, but with clear links to ancestors like Townes van Zandt, Mount Eerie, Marissa Nadler Songs: Ohia and even Leonard Cohen. The six songs on the EP range from the momento mori of first track “Under the Horned Moon”, where added Fender Rhodes and flute augument the darkly atmospheric track, over protest-song “The Enemy”, about the Danish reactions to the “refugee crisis” of 2015, to the swooning, mythological scope of “First Morning”. The EP is closed by longtime liveset closer “Black River”, a song about loss in different forms on which Tanja V. Jessen adds cathartic final bursts of noise guitar.
Danish music magazine Gaffa’s online edition have previously written about a live show:
“Their own style is not unlike Canadian Mount Eerie in the hypnotic acoustic guitar melodies, with a weird, almost seasick sense of melody, which through repetition and echo-effects is used to create extended soundscapes. Müller is joined by organist Laura Noszczyk whose backup-vocals adds an otherworldly glow to Müller’s melancholic universe. In spite of the simplicity of the music Tidebound commands a high degree of concentration from the audience as a consequence of the purity of the vision, which runs through the project.” – Simon Hesselager Johansen | GAFFA (own translation)
The lead track “Under the Horned Moon” premiered on Psych-folk radio show The Unquiet Meadow in February and a release show in Copenhagen is planned for the 9th of March. The cover artwork is created by William Schaff, who has previously created artwork for Songs: Ohia, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Okkerville River and more.
For more information, contact: Dave Müller, nakkiel at gmail dot com, +45 28884542 www.tidebound.com / tidebound.bandcamp.com / facebook.com/tidebound
dendronrecords.bandcamp.com
www.woodlandrecordings.com
Attachments
Tidebound – Black River and Other Bodies of Water press release (Eng) (PDF)
Tidebound bio 2018 (Eng) (PDF)
Video
See more on the Videos page.
Press clippings
From Disagreement.net (8/10):
“The songs are mostly all quite astonishing. The opener “Under The Horned Moon” takes you by surprise with its halting attitude, which is actually quite the modus operandi of Tidebound. The Enemy is a short and angry protest song about the plight that refugees have to go through before they arrive in a safe country, and how people turn their fear into hatred. Some distorted guitar parts underline the artist’s disillusion at many of his compatriots. All Love Is Unrequited comes with a flute part and is simply beautiful, reminding of very early Pink Floyd or Syd Barrett solo endeavours. Cities Now In Ruins is a very sparse track with pleasant backing vocals, and on First Morning, the minimalist approach goes on, and maybe due to a lack of memorable melody, this is the only track I don’t really get into. The EP ends with Black River, starting out slow and then ending in an unexpected rousing way.
I am not really that much of an lo-fi indie folk fan, but when it’s done well, I really appreciate it. Dave Müller did a tremendous job on his first label released EP, and one hopes that more will follow soon. Fans of dark folk music (Mount Eerie, Songs: Ohia,…) will be delighted by this short journey through the artist’s bleak visions.”
From GFrock.dk (4/6) in danish:
Det musikalske udgangspunkt er folk – af den mere rugende og ildevarslende slags. […] Müller lyder ind i mellem som en reciterende Steen Jørgensen eller en knap så dybrøstet Leonard Cohen på EP’ens seks numre, hvor tempoet aldrig bevæger sig over det langsomme.
Det er måske også der, man kan blive udfordret på Black River and Other Bodies of Water. Hvis man ikke har tålmodighed til de 4-5 minutter lange numre, som ikke kaster sig ud i nogen pludselige temposkift overhovedet, så er man nok skræmt væk inden man er nået fra den dunkelt drømmende åbner ‘Under the Horned Moon’ til ‘Enemy’, der falder som andet nummer – og er det mest uptempo på albummet.
Holder man ved, er der til gengæld noget at hente. For selv om Müller ingenlunde er begavet med en stor stemme, så fungerer hans reciterende stil, fordi hans vokal sættes godt i scene (ligesom nyere Sort Sol rammer Steen Jørgensens ru vokal ind, eller førnævnte Cohen, uden direkte sammenligninger i øvrigt). Det gøres den blandt andet ved det akustiske guitarspil, og så kvindevokalerne […], der dukker op som nærmest overjordiske elementer og svæver omkring Müller’s vokal.