Tiles - Presents of Mind

"Thinking man's rock."

Tiles is a sort of Rush-esque rock band. But more the 'rock' side of Rush and less so the synth-pop-rock kind of Rush. As to Dream Theater similarities the other reviewers mention, I think there are almost no significant similarities except that the singer sounds like a James LaBrie/Geddy Lee hybrid. He's got a great voice, I say.

The band's name seems to imply a mosaic of sound, and they do draw upon a number of styles and sounds for the songs (all diluted by the hard rock focus, of course). Songs are both immediately accessible but endearing for the long-term (usually one comes at the cost of another). Actually, I can imagine some of these tunes getting radio play and being fairly popular, like "Static" and "Taking Control." All the musicians make quite an impression, especially on the instrumental "Ballad of the Sacred Cows" (presumably named so because of the frequent cow bell in the mix).

This is my first Tiles disc (and it is the band's most recent release at the time of this writing), and this one made a good impression. I plan on getting their other albums somewhere down the line.