With the Tides

The beauty of With the Tides lies not only in its big-picture melodies, but also in its little details; each unique and unorthodox instrumental flourish provides another brick in South's already dense, impressively towering wall of sound. From the live string arrangements on the Spectorian album opener "Motiveless Crime" to the whimsical banjo and harpsichord on "Loosen Your Hold," it's apparent that With The Tides is not the work of some rudimentary guitar/bass/drums outfit. And though they've become famous for swapping instruments both onstage and in the studio, South's self-taught musicians refuse to describe themselves as multi-instrumentalists.