Tyde

On their past two albums, the Tyde have carved themselves a niche playing sunny pop songs that make it easy to figure out that they hail from California. And, perhaps not surprisingly, not much has changed on their third record. Once again, the Tyde have made an imperfect album that periodically approaches greatness but manages to stop short again and again. Three’s Co. has a real summery feel and takes great delight in following one light pop song with another, and that is where they are at their strongest. In fact, most songs have the comfortable familiarity of an old friend, yet five minutes later, they are forgotten. There just isn’t much memorable about them and that is where the band really fall down this time around. It is only fitting that Conor Deasy from the Thrills shows up on one song because both bands strive for the same sound. Recruiting Mickey Madden from Maroon 5, on the other hand, is a little more confusing. Oh well. It isn’t a completely lost cause by any means, with some of the better moments coming when the band tone down their sunny side and dwell on the melancholy instead. That’s what makes the piano-driven "Separate Cars” one of the highlights, with the twang of "Don’t Need A Leash” coming up behind. But ultimately, this is just a whole bunch of "heard it all before” and the Tyde need to find some new tricks next time round.