This was not written by myself, a friend of mine who I asked to write a review and did so willingly has opted to remain anonymous in this posting.

When Bides the Tide is a live project forwarded by the band Bote. This band, centred in Greenville, SC, is a four-piece celtic tinged set, with an instrumentation ranging from the irish drum [bodhran] to the classic 6-string acoustic guitar. The band was founded in February of the year 2008, and in three short months it had stretched its repertoire considerably. Following in the footsteps of bands like Great Big Sea and Spirit of the West, the lineup specialises in combining the traditional with the progressive.

Fronting the band is Tim Keeley, an irish-blooded red-haired musician who insists he bleeds guinness. He has a solid voice with even more solid instrumentation. He plays most of the celtic instruments for the band while singing, including the concertina, bodhran and penny whistles. He also learned the strumstick when he joined the band to add even more diversity to their sound.

The lead guitarist, Nick Nicholson , is an ex-solo musician who describes his style as appalachian/americana. His music ventures into the realm of blues and roots rock, opening a totally new venture for the band upon his reception in March 2008. He has written much original material as well as brought some covers and traditionals to the fray. He is also the second lead vocalist, singing roughly 1/3 of the material.

Valeria Gallegos, the most irish member yet (born in Ecuador, South America), plays the fiddle and tin whistle, as well as backing with her female vocals. She is notorious for being an avid fan of Flogging Molly. Her contribution goes farther than just making music, she also is active as the booking agent and advertiser for the band. She paired with Tim in the design of the album as well.

Finally, the last member is the most recent addition and is not included on the album itself. Terry Jones, second guitarist and occasional bassist has added the Bob Dylan feel to the background, helping to fill in holes that were much amiss in the three-piece lineup on "Bides."

The themes of their songs--whether originals, covers, or folk songs--generally are political or romantic. In the rare instance they may sit back and simply sing a song about the good times in life as well, and this album generally covers much of their diversity in their music. The live part is a bonus since you can hear that they are as good in person as on a recording, possibly even better.

The album starts with the pulsating The Old Polina, a traditional Newfoundland tune about n intrepid whaling ship with an equally daunting crew. The song has a rolling bodhran solo at the beginning and tight vocal harmonies in the chorus, reminiscent of the days when the Dubliners graced bars across Ireland.

Immediately following the intensity of the shanty beforehand, "Barnacles on the Hull" tones down the jumpy feet of the dancers in the crowd. Featuring the melodious undertones of the concertina and written by founder Bren Poole, this song is sure to please all those who affectionately recall sailing in their lifetime.

Having the honour of allowing two "fan recorded tracks" is a hit-or-miss endeavour. When Val and Tim bounced ideas back and forth they realised allowing fans with cameras or recording equipment may be interested in capturing the live show themselves. "I'll Tell Me Ma" is a solid irish tune that has been recorded by Gaelic Storm with much success. The quality of the recording is mediocre at best, but the energy nonetheless remains, proving that fans do have a part in how a band truly performs.

"Bout With Fate" is the highlight of the entire album. An introspective rant against one's self, the writer finds that he himself never can truly defeat what ails him. Tim Keeley wrote this song after losing his uncle to cancer a few years ago. Ironically, he says, he was showering and it just lept into his mind at 3 AM. His wife was not very happy that he wrote the song in bed, singing to himself all the while, but it has established itself since as a favourite and a staple of live shows.

Another Newfoundland tune slips into the repertoire in the form of Lukey. It is said by the frontman that this is possibly the best performance on the album, as well as the best sound quality. The song itself matches the metre of excellence, interjecting a spark of humour after the darker predecessor, "Fate."

The second of the fan recordings is "Harbour LeCou", voted as the best song in the line-up by the fans at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC. This song embodies the love of a cheating husband who is caught in the act and yet is unremorseful in the end.

The second original written by frontman Tim is "Our Destination." "This," he said, "is the fastest writing I've ever done. I just threw a random melody in my head down and added words that rhymed without effort. This is our addition of brevity to this album." It's a very melodic piece that was originally intended to be a punk number. This was halted when Tim was ignored by both Val and Nick and instead produced one of their catchiest numbers yet!

As the album progresses, it seems so does the music. From the staunch celtic number at the beginning to the more modern "Our Destination" , the band decided that needed to try something even more experimental. They took what is considered the most popular irish tune in history, "Star of the County Down", and molded it into a blues number. Recommended by a fellow musician at an open mike night in Traveler's Rest, SC, Nick and Tim crunched the numbers to see what they could do to jazz it up. The result is arguably the most unique version of the song on the market. I for one am looking forward to it being recorded in the studio.

The band's infamous finale, "Scolding Wife", embodies all the things celtic music is famous for: rolling percussion, flaming hot fiddle, tight vocals harmonies, and driving guitar. Each member sings a verse of this song and by the end, even the crowd is joining in on the portions they remember. This song was recorded in what Tim calls their "home base", the lovely Fitzpatrick's Irish Pub in Greenville.

On the album are two "bonus tracks" that were thrown in after production began. The first is Cap'n Nick's "Karaoke Night [Ballad of Buffalo Joe's]", the first official 12-bar blues number the band has regularly performed. The second track is one that finally happened in a studio (of sorts). Tim goes on to describe recording "Bout With Fate":

"When I sat down to record this song, I realised what difficulty it would bring. not having access to an official full-service studio, I had to essentially overdub everything I played. It was much easier for the others to do their parts, simply because the overdubbing did not exist for them."

This is the culmination of much work on the song he dubbed "his life's story." It wraps up the rather eclectic yet entertaining project that has unofficially launched the band into the music scene.

In short, this album is a great starter for any band of this type of genre. Fans and critics alike enjoy hearing their musicians live and this enables them to do so without actually attending shows. The album has weak points, be it the quality of recording or the difficult-to-hear guitar. The song choices are sound, be it cliche at times. The original work is radio worthy even if the quality isn't, and the devotion to the sound is steadfast and sure. If you're a folk music fan of any sort it's worth a look-see. If you are not, certainly hit their site I linked above and sample to see what you think. There are two videos on here as well to ensure that you get the chance to give a listen.

The album gets a 6.5/10 in my book, but my wife has given it an 8/10 because she feels it's a great start for the band. Press clippings from their opening show for Rathkeltair in Charlotte suggest that the fans are pretty agreed upon a 7/10 rating.

If you're not a fan of Bote, be sure to join their myspace friends list or find them on their other sites as well (should be on their homepage somewhere).

I hope you find this review helpful and I will do all I can to ensure that I answer as many questions as come up!