Review Summary: Gimme the D.
Having taken considerable time off to focus on his other side projects, D. is back with his most famous IP, announcing and releasing his latest seemingly out of nowhere. And if this is supposed to be a swansong to one of blackgaze's most recognizable brands, then The Falling Tide seems like a satisfying send-off.
Throughout its mercifully concise half hour runtime, The Falling Tide exhibits the best and worst of Desolate's songwriting skills. It works best in its two standout songs, the opener "Far from Here" and the album's title track, which ebb and flow over hypnotizing low-end melodies and soaring passages, exploding in roaring crescendos. The unusually hoarse but fitting tortured vocals, certainly an acquired taste for genre enthusiasts, blend in well with the instruments, adding to the album and band's trademark evocative natural atmosphere. It's a soundscape that is both bleak and beautiful, and full of existential celebration but also anguish. Elsewhere, the album sadly can't sustain its momentum, especially due to Desolate's over-reliance on twinkly guitar licks that ring woefully hollow and become downright boring. This in nowhere more evident than on the album's closing track where D. seems to be only on autopilot as the album fizzles out rather than going out with a bang, the way it did on Torn Beyond Reason, arguably Desolate's greatest accomplishment.
While it's easy to dismiss The Falling Tide as another formulaic release in the genre, there's a lot to love in the albums's brightest, and darkest moments. Undoubtedly a solid addition to the artist's growing discography, even if not the most memorable.
