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The Two Tides release debut single, “Loved by You”

Release date: April 5th, 2019

Dan Ray April 5, 2019
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The Two Tides release debut single, “Loved by You” April 5, 2019

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

Photo courtesy of The Two Tides

In early 2018, singer/songwriters Sarah O’Dea and Maddy Smith came together to form an acoustic folk duo, The Two Tides. Now armed with drummer Max Burton and bassist Jesse Gallaway, the foursome is ready to debut their first official single, “Loved by You.”

The track is a sugary little ditty that makes you want to bop up and down like a Smurf dancing on the first day of spring. Musically characterized by strummed guitars and dry drums, the track drives forward with the eagerness and earnestness of an early Taylor Swift song. It’s unapologetically happy and undeniably wholesome.

In a scene riddled with angsty grunge-rock and a general feeling of discontent, “Loved by You” is a fun departure.

The tune centers around the harmonies between Smith and O’Dea’s vocals, as they sing “I don’t know how to fly / but, honey, it feels like I do / when I’m loved by you.” The co-frontwomen both have an impeccable ear for harmony, and — especially in the bridge — there are some unexpected intervals that add another level of musicianship to the otherwise straightforward tune.

But, while the harmonies are well done, the way they’re mixed takes the punch out of them. The whole track sounds like a live recording done in a fairly-well-miced room with no audience — halfway between a studio recording and a live one. The single dynamic creates a folk song that sounds like it was mastered by a compression-metal engineer. The drums often take center stage just because of their volume — not necessarily for intent — and the harmonies meld into the main melody instead of supporting it.

While I haven’t yet seen The Two Tides live, I’d imagine the equality dynamic between O’Dea and Smith would be refreshingly fun on stage. Even in the recorded track, you can hear how the self-proclaimed best friends feed off of each other. But, this studio version feels too one-note.

Even so, it’s clear this duo is a folk songwriting powerhouse. And, with six shows scheduled in both April and May, The Two Tides are putting in the work. They may not be masters at mixing tracks yet, but, if they can keep the energy up in concert, they’re sure to mix up a solid fan base.

Loved By You

Loved By You
7.8

Songwriting

 8.2/10

Mixing

 6.0/10

Cohesion

 9.2/10

Comments

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).