udging by the first track, South 's second full-length With the Tides might have been a treasure chest of brilliantly layered, masterfully produced songs. Flaunting dark and luscious swathes of sound, the three-piece British band manages to heap the sonic on top of the orchestral on top of heavy drum loops ? and make it sound pretty convincing. No full-out masterpieces, but some musical successes all the same.

Easily the best tune on the record, the opening track, ?Motiveless Crime,? lets slip a few bars of muffled beats, before tripping satisfyingly into the glory of a crisper, more massive beat, and this beat is huge in all senses of the word huge. All you suckers for heavy stand-alone beats that rip, get your fill. It sets the tone for about half the album during which Joel Cadbury's soaring, sonic vocals take melodic lead, and bring out the best of his trademark British vocals.

Mildly hypnotic verses in ?Colours in Waves? lead into euphorically lovely hooks that catch your ear and carry you off into an ocean of phaser-drifts. ?Fall back on what you've done/I'll be the only one/These colors before my eyes/I'll be forever colorblind,? Cadbury sings, bringing your ears to momentary bliss before dropping too quickly back into the verse.

On ?Loosen Your Hold,? the first release off the album, a banjo is the instrument of choice to hold the riff, and amazingly enough, this polar opposite of electronic instrumentation finds a seat in the mesh of soundtrack orchestral strings, rock guitar and noise.

Unfortunately the album only manages to hold this kind of attention for, at best, four songs. After multiple listens, I still can't quite decide if it's just too much of the dizzying electronic sameness or if the tunes really peter out in quality. Comparisons to the Stone Roses and Oasis abound, particularly on ?Same Old Story,? where Liam Gallagher might have easily lent his voice on the chorus. But it seems the strengths of South ? which draw largely from the band's skillful laying of gorgeous melodies over thick electronic drum loops ? ultimately surrender to blander, albeit carefully crafted songs.

The effect is an album that astounds you with its equal strengths in melody and soundscape but which disappointingly loosens its hypnosis and lets your mind trail off in a most unsatisfying manner. By the end, South seems to run out of ideas, leaving you with forgettable choruses despite a multitude of interesting sounds to listen for.

But suffice it to say that it's quite good while it lasts. Highlights were ?Motiveless Crime,? ?Colours in Waves,? ?Same Old Story,? and ?Silver Sun.?