Performer Magazine You can almost smell the patchouli and hear the mosquitoes buzzing around the campfire as you listen to Ten Mile Tide’s self-titled debut. The album kicks off with a spinning, memorable jam called “River Sun and Rain,” invoking the spirits of careless fun and just plain good times: “I still taste the dirt / My feet still feel the earth / The wildfire burning in my veins / They call me river sun and rain.” Ten Mile Tide has several very obvious influences at work here, including the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. Their easy, carefree jams bring to mind hot summer days, road-tripping, and lighthearted wandering. Their hooks are easy to remember, and their multi-level instrumentation works so well you hardly notice it. Undoubtedly the tightest song on the recording is “Find Your Own Way Home,” a song about being tired of a traveling partner. “Find your own way home ... the sun is shining, the fish are biting. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving today.” In this song, the male vocalist sings unapologetically from the point of view of a woman who is bent out of shape when her drunk lover takes her on an awful day trip. From there, the tune turns into a bluegrass breakdown, complete with what should be a clogging solo, but is instead a tongue-in-cheek drummer’s delight. Other highlights of the album include the sadly honest “Miss Those Days” and the relaxed, heart-wrenching “Briar Rose” (“Briar rose, can’t you see that I’m just stuck here in your thorn”). This third release from the San Francisco-based band shows that they’re ready to be heard outside their carefree city, and they have a promising road ahead. Although so many folk-rock bands are eager to pick up the torch from their 1960s forefathers, Ten Mile Tide actually has some appeal of their own to offer; and on their new album, they make this abundantly clear.
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