When Canada-based artist To The Tide (who also records as Silk Static) was selecting the album art for his brand new record Defence of the Heart, he realized that for the first time he wanted to include a picture of himself on the cover. He stated:
“This is the first time I’ve ever used album art that’s a picture of me, and it feels so right, because this album is the most honest and personal piece I’ve ever made”
The six-track release takes the listener on a deep, emotional journey, and as such we’re sure that To the Tide – Defence of the Heart EP will be finding lots of fans in the aftermath of its release. He describes his album as:
“A concept album, it tells a story of loss, isolation, soul-searching, growth, and hope (in that order)”.
To The Tide – Defence of the Heart EP kicks off with Adieu, a slow-paced track dominated by ethereal, heavily treated vocal samples and slow, calming beats, putting across the contemplative mood of the album’s protagonist who is wondering why his loved one had to leave him. Similar levels of pensiveness permeate on the second track Echo, which uses plaintive piano melodies and emotive lyrics (“you’re like an echo in my mind”) to represent how the the protagonist is becoming overwhelmed by thoughts of the person who has left them. “Echo shows the character struggle to think of anything but their loss” To The Tide confirms and added:
“They become consumed by the thought of them, haunted by their memory”.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, and by the end of the release we find the protagonist in a much more positive, peaceful state of mind, as portrayed by the soothing electronics on closing track Shape of My Soul. It makes a perfect final moment for the To The Tide – Defence of the Heart EP, which sets out an aural journey that many listeners will find both gently soothing and extraordinarily poignant.
Stream the To the Tide – Defence of the Heart album on Spotify below!
