Short Reviews [Tides From Nebula - 2016 - "Safeheaven"]

Tides From Nebula are an instrumental post rock progressive Polish quartet, comprising Adam Waleszynski (guitar), Maciej Karbowski (guitar, keyboards, piano), Przemysaw Wegtowski (bass) and Tomasz Stotowski (drums). Released in 2016, this was their fourth full-length studio album, and shows a band as much influenced by Muse as much as they have been by Tool, and even Jean Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk. That’s not to say that there are swathes of endless snyth layers, but rather that musically they come across with many broad repeated strokes of the musical palette as opposed to anything that is sharp, vibrant and staccato. The result is an album which in many ways quite dreamy, taking the listener away into a more reflective world, but the main issue is the lack of dynamics within, which means that after a short while the listener starts to become quite bored with music which seems to be all working at exactly the same level. It’s not that there is anything inherently bad with what they are doing, just that one wishes for a bit more life within it. Krautrock for a modern age? Maybe, but while there is definitely a place for this style, and it is well played, it’s just not for me.