After the sonic onslaught of Spring Rites (2023), Tannhauser Orchestra returns with Low Tide, the Belgian shoegazers’ eight studio album. A heady and morose collection of songs, Low Tide still offers melodious highlights like ‘Dead in the Water’, ‘Slave to the Wave’ and ‘Teen Dreams of Seaweed’. On Low Tide, the ocean represents a rejection of society, the world and even life itself, and so riding the waves becomes the ultimate escape. Even when the lyrics are not drenched in seawater, a desire to flee from reality is the subject matter of tracks such as ‘Dope Opera’ and ‘Airport 2203’.
Less immediately accessible than its predecessor, Low Tide still offers a captivating collection of songs, and its more rounded production will prove a rewarding listening experience. The record’s almost uplifting closer ‘The End Is Not the Story’ provides a preview of the cleaner, more spacious sound the band will be pursuing in the future.
