Tiles built on the sucess of their debut album and created a masterpiece with their second album,
Fence the Clear. Featuring new drummer Pat Deleon,
Fence the Clear maintains the basic sound of
Tiles but significantly improves the songwriting.
Fence the Clear has a very open, melodic feel starting with two real rockers, "Patters" and "Beneath the Surface." "Cactus Valley" slows the tempo somewhat, with excellent vocals, very noticeable, melodic bass and strong backing guitar. "The Wading Pool" is a stunning emotional ballad with only vocals and a soft guitar. "Gameshow" is a somewhat unusual song that doesn't fill its potential; it is, however, enjoyable to listen to. The most truly progressive track here is the album closer, "Checkerboards," an almost 15-minute track with many changes throughout and some instrumental breaks.
Fence the Clear is a fantastic CD that sounds a lot like '80s
Rush. ~ David White