TILES

Does Tiles sound a lot like Rush, yes. Are they trying to clone Rush, no. While there are quite a few similarities between the bands, Tiles definitely has some style of their own. While probably not the level of musicans as the Canadian stalwarts, this Detriot based band are all great musicians in their own right. And if you're one of the people that likes the music of Rush but just can't get passed the vocals, then this is the band for you. The vocalist has a great voice that is just different enough to be unique without being too unique.

Starting with the first track, Analysis Paralysis, you get that wonderful meandering, burbling bassline of the classic late 70's and early 80's Rush albums. They definitely have some prog chops as they easily slip between instruments and time signatures. The guitarist can definitely channel the spirit of Alex Lifeson with his arpeggiated fretboard runs. The start of the second song is a great example of this style as it sounds like it would belong on Signals album. The rest of the songs are all equally great. In fact, this album as a whole is very consistent from start to finish, more so than the Rush ablums of the last 15 years. The mixing and the recording are top notch, especially for a debut release. I would recommend this album to fans of Rush, obviously, as well as other fans of art rock. Tiles is definitely one of the finer bands out there and well worth taking a listen. I'm very glad that I did.