Twice

With Twice, The Tyde sounds less like a sibling band to Beachwood Sparks, even with a few shared members. Here, frontman Darren Rademaker comes into his own sound right from the opening song. “A Loner” sparkles with Moogs and acoustic guitars as his lyrics reveal more confessionals than on the preceding LP, Once. He hasn’t abandoned his sharp wit, as shown by the peppy “Henry VIII”; Rademaker sings self-deprecating lyrics like “I'd like to get me a place down in Dana Point/But I can't even put down this joint." Even when revisiting twangy canyon rock in the standout song “Go Ask Yer Dad,” The Tyde pulls back its obvious influences to hone its own tone, with a contrast of shimmering guitar jangle and scuzzy, distorted fuzz. Throughout Twice, there’s an uplifting sense of Rademaker letting his love for surfing and songwriting help shake off his prior demons. In “Blood Brothers,” he proclaims: "Do you want to know what it feels like to be a man?/Try spending 25 years in a band."