The Transonics

Utilizing melodic noise to illustrate both emotion and understated virtuosities of the most surreal quality, The Transonics are on a mission to embody lunar tonal lust like no band has for the better part of the last twenty years in their new EP Tides, currently out everywhere indie rock is sold and streamed this summer. Featuring modernist tunes like “Orange Sunshine,” the title cut, and the enrapturing “Midnight,” Tides uses pseudo-futurisms and rich poetic ironies to leave us utterly spellbound amidst relatively simplistic song structures. It’s a showcase for The Transonics’ talent, and collectively one of the best records I’ve heard out of their scene lately.

“Tequila,” “When You Were Mine,” and the thrashy “Getcha” have sublime color to their harmonies, and I like that none of them force the guitar/vocal relationship to the forefront of the mix intentionally. Contrarily, there’s a clandestine shift in the spotlight from the bottom-end to the carnal lust of the top in all three of these songs, further alluding to a masterful moodiness in The Transonics’ sound that I’ve wanted to hear more of since they dropped their debut just two years ago. This is absolutely more forward-thinking, and exceptionally well-rounded tonally.

The title cut, “Tequila,” and “Orange Sunshine” are more than just strong features in this tracklist; they’re more or less the identity of The Transonics captured in three songs that just as easily could have been an EP without the additional tracks here. This isn’t to say that Tides ever has the feeling of a filler-weighted record, but instead to note that this band clearly knows what their presence in the underground should be, and more importantly, how they’re going to facilitate a rise to the top of the indie heap without having to sacrifice any of their sterling ideals.

Listen to Tides below

“Getcha” has a striking physicality that we feel just as much in “When You Were Mine,” minus the big riffing of course, but it’s worth pointing out that pop influences always remain elementary to the construction of any hook included in Tides. I feel like The Transonics are more of a surreal pop act in this record than they are an outright alternative rock syndicate, but perhaps the blurry line separating the two is a part of their personality as a group as well. Their eccentricities shine up like diamonds in this record and make me curious about hearing the band play in person as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Tides is both entrancing and wonderfully cerebral in ways that a lot of other EPs have only attempted to be, and if it’s representative of what the next chapter of The Transonics’ story is going to consist of, I think we’ve only heard a taste of the magic still sitting on the horizon. The Transonics play like a meticulous and emotional band disciplined by their experiences here, and if you haven’t already taken some time to hear what they’re up to this summer, you need to do so immediately with the immersive tracklist of Tides.


SCOTT CARLITO - Indie Band Guru

The Transonics

“Tides”

From the EP Tides

Sonic Soirée Records

Hailing from Columbia, S.C., The Transonics are a 5-piece surfedelic power-pop band. Formed in 2018, The Transonics combine psychedelic/‘60s garage-rock, surf, new wave, and power-pop to create a genre melding sound that’s refreshingly new and unique.

thetransonics.com - Relix

Based in Columbia, South Carolina, surfedelic pop outfit The Transonics introduce their spanking new EP, entitled Tides, via Sonic Soiree Records. Tides follows the band’s 2020 debut album, Lost in Time, which spent 13 weeks on the NACC charts.

Female-fronted, The Transonics’ sound amalgamates soupçons of surf, psychedelic rock, new wave, and power pop into music harking back to the ‘80s, akin to an intersection of the Eurythmics and No Doubt. The band’s personnel include Patti Davis (vocals, keyboards), Lisa Thiem (vocals), David Burnett (guitar), Michael Smith (keyboards), Andrew Morgan (bass), and Josh Brannon (drums, percussion).

Made up of six tracks, Tides begins with the title track, which opens on strident shimmering colours flowing into a surf/new-wave flavoured rhythm topped by coruscating guitar riffs. Davis’ lush voice, vaguely reminiscent of Gwen Stefani, imbues the lyrics with cool, alluring timbres.

Commenting on the track, Patti Davis shares, “‘Tides’ started with a guitar line that David came up with. It had a cool surfy vibe, and Josh came up with a bouncing drum beat around it. When we were in the studio (at Strawberry Skys Recording Studio), Gary Bolton had an idea to simplify the drumbeat and make it a more straightforward song. We tried, but it didn't work. The whole song is built around the bounce of the drums, and without it, it just didn't have a groove that we could fall into.”

From a purely subjective viewpoint, entry points include “Tequila,” dripping with dangerous washes of sleazy energy as Davis’ femme fatale-laced tones imbue the lyrics with risky savours.

“Better watch your step if you're into this potion / Cause it'll knock you down and leave you in the ocean / One sip, and you'll want more / Two, and you're on the floor / That devil juice is causing a commotion.”

Perhaps the best track on the EP, “Orange Sunshine”, blends creamy waves of jangle-lite guitars with contagious rhythmic momentum. Davis’ silky-smooth infuses the lyrics with low-slung frothy filaments. Whereas “Getcha” turns things upside down, merging pop-punk energy with aggressive hints of new wave, parading The Transonics’ ability to pump out sizzling rock.

Superbly wrought, rippling with a scope of stylistic flavours, from undulating sensuality to the raw impudence of pop-punk, Tides is a grand EP. - XS Noize

The Transonics are a six-piece, female-fronted band from Columbia, South Carolina. Their high energy music combines elements of New Wave, surf, psychedelic rock, and power pop. They draw inspiration from the great of the ’60s through the early ’80s, when rock music ruled the airwaves.

On August 27th, The Transonics will be releasing, Tides, the follow up EP to their debut album, Lost in Time that spent 13 weeks on the NACC charts in the spring and summer of 2020.

From the danceable groove of the title track “Tides,” to the gutsy power pop of “Getcha,” the Transonics’ infectious melodies will guide you on a fun summer escape.

Big Takeover is pleased to host the premiere of “Orange Sunshine,” a warm and inviting track from the EP.

“Orange Sunshine” is a mellow retro-pop track that radiates copacetic vibes with softly pushing bass line, fluid and shining guitar chime, muffled drum beats, and gently flowing vocals.

The tambourine accents (and the changeable bass line) add a dancier groove to the mix, and the lyrics are drawn out like a hazy daydream.

Vocalist Patti gives some details about the number, explaining, “[Band member] David came up with the main riff to “Orange Sunshine” right after we wrote “Lost in Time.” Around the same time a friend of the band had told us a story about how she did some Orange Sunshine in the ’60s when she was young and she and some of her friends did a diner dash and ran [off] into the sunset.”

“We ended up working on the song later that night and [band member] Lisa just started spouting out a bunch of lyrics about the story, so I grabbed a pen and started scribbling them down. At first we thought they were going to be placeholder lyrics for the song, but the simplicity and innocence of the lyrics fit the music, so we ended up keeping them. I love the imagery of Jan running off happily into the sunset.” - The Big Takeover

Columbia, South Carolina is where this 6-piece band hails from and I think the last band I really liked from SC was The Explorers Club. Just by the name I was expecting something a little fun and goofy but this is a bit more serious (not in a bad way) but there are elements of fun, too (check out the band photo). This 6-song EP follows up lasts year’s Lost in Time full length (the title track of that record is terrific). The first two cuts on this, EP, the title track and “When You Were Mine” are both mid-tempo pop cuts in the vein of The Pretenders and both nice cuts but it gets better. The tempo picks up a bit on the terrific “Orange Sunshine” (which really shows off the vocals of Patti Davis and Lisa Thiem) and “Getcha” pumps up the volume a bit more with cool, crashing guitars and a real sense of energy. “Midnight” closes the record out, a real low-key song, adding a bit of soul to the proceedings. I like most of this EP and am curious to see where they go next time out…maybe a bit more surf (didn’t hear much of that on this one) or the new wave route. I’ll be listening either way. www.thetransonics.com www.thetransonics.bandcamp.com - Dagger Zine

Surfedelic power-pop outfit The Transonics introduce “Tides,” the title track from their forthcoming EP, slated to drop in August.

The Tides EP follows the band’s 2020 debut album, Lost in Time, which occupied a slot on NACC’s charts for 13 weeks.

Hailing from Columbia, South Carolina, The Transonics’s sound harks back to the ‘80s, blending new wave, surf, psychedelic rock, and power-pop into contagious sonic confections reminiscent of the Eurythmics crossed with No Doubt.

Fronted by vocalist Patti Davis, whose irresistible voice recalls Gwen Stefani, The Transonics are made up of Josh Brannon, Jaime Bateman, Lisa Thiem, David Burnett, and Andrew Morgan.

“Tides” opens on chiming, sparkling tones rolling into a new wave melody flavored with intoxicating washes of hallucinogenic textures and tinges of surf-rock. When Davis’s dreamy, voguish voice enters, she infuses the lyrics with dark, mysterious nuances, at once wickedly immersive and imminent with enigmatic suggestions.

The syncopated percussion merges with the rippling bassline to imbue the rhythm with bewitching, sensuous undulations. A luminous guitar infuses ‘60s psychedelic coloration, redolent of The Byrds as percolating, ringing highlights offer shimmering leitmotifs.

Soft, wraithlike harmonies infuse the tune with a spectral patina juxtaposed against haunting timbres, adding ghost-like savors.

Suffused in kaleidoscopic gliding layers of sound, “Tides” offers tantalizing sinuous harmonics topped by the spellbinding vocals of Patti Davis.

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Follow The Transonics Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | S - The Young Folks

Out today, ‘Tides’ is the new single from The Transonics, taken from their upcoming self released EP of the same name, which is due out on August 13.
Channelling a little bit of Mike Oldfield, all the surf bands you’ve ever heard of, and Stevie Nicks, ‘Tides’ is a bright piece of power-pop that will resonate in your brain for ages after it’s finished. The female-led six piece band from Columbia, South Carolina, specialise in infectious, danceable, high energy music that draws the listener in, and just refuses to let go again. There’s something to ‘Tides’ that reminds us a little bit too of The B-52s, and we really enjoy the idea of that.

‘Tides’ follows on from The Transonics’ debut album, ‘Lost In Time’, released last year. That album spent 13 weeks on the NACC charts, and if the lead single is anything to go by, then ‘Tides’ is likely to follow suit.

Listen to ‘Tides’ below. You can find out more about The Transonics and their music online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and their official website. - Essentially Pop

A twist of jazzy lime, a smidge of funk and a whole lotta style – the new song “Tequila” from The Transonics goes down pretty smoothly. Featuring an addictive vocal cooing, and some impressive percussion, listeners might find themselves wondering which path to take – the alternative rock or pop rock road. Like the libation itself, “Tequila” is a potent song with a swift reaction. The newest single from The Transonics’ forthcoming EP, The Tides, “Tequila” follows the title track and the power pop tune, “Getcha”. The Transonics call Columbia, South Carolina home.

One sip and you’ll want more, sings a female vocalist. Her delivery, brooding, mysterious-like, urges the listener to keep listening. It’s as if she were curling her finger, motioning the listener – daring the listener – to take the corner booth in a dive bar. The thrust of guitars, a tight mesh of balanced riff and feedback that throws a shade of nostalgia erupts into the sonic air. This song has a corner-bar vibe, with nefarious characters swirling around its magnetic pull. I suppose being a listener, and within its orbit, one gets the sense that the night-time, after-hours tones are depraved. It’s funny, on the first listen I got that feeling. That devil juice is causing your commotion, she sings. I loved that line because the word ‘devil’ of course congers visions of evil, ner’er-do-wells and vagabonds.



HEAR NOW: https://thetransonics.hearnow.com/tequila



After a few listens, and really settling into the sound, I also surmised that this song recognizes the ‘devil juice’ but takes on a sort of warning label for the listener. The same can be said about a relationship and a particular person might have a bad reputation. Or maybe they have a ton of baggage. I liked playing with these storylines and the bursting rhythms, alongside the contagious humming. “Tequila” feels fresh and interesting. There’s nothing stale about the sound, and certainly the vocals are intriguing. This song has several layers to it and slithers along at first, only to really sound polished by the song’s end. It has this aura to it, that nocturnal sheen, but it also has a very bright, amber-dipped coloring. If you were to just isolate the music bed, it is in the same family as The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” (I didn’t say immediate family, but maybe a third cousin) and I can easily see why fans of The B-52’s would gravitate towards the riffs and the quirky blurbs.

This song has spunk and rest assured; the band sounds confident with each note. As a listener, there’s a lot of comfort knowing that a band like The Transonics is going to give you a new view, a new feeling around each corner. Mission accomplished. I loved the entire song, from start to finish, and found myself gulping down more and more listens. If you’re in the mood for a song that tickles the grooves happening in your body, but don’t want to get too sweaty, “Tequila” is a perfect pick. If you want a song that gets you thinking and maybe drinking a bit more, then, yes, “Tequila” is that song, too.



Trevor Garland - Music Existence

Out today, ‘Tides’ is the new single from The Transonics, taken from their upcoming self released EP of the same name, which is due out on August 13.
Channelling a little bit of Mike Oldfield, all the surf bands you’ve ever heard of, and Stevie Nicks, ‘Tides’ is a bright piece of power-pop that will resonate in your brain for ages after it’s finished. The female-led six piece band from Columbia, South Carolina, specialise in infectious, danceable, high energy music that draws the listener in, and just refuses to let go again. There’s something to ‘Tides’ that reminds us a little bit too of The B-52s, and we really enjoy the idea of that.

‘Tides’ follows on from The Transonics’ debut album, ‘Lost In Time’, released last year. That album spent 13 weeks on the NACC charts, and if the lead single is anything to go by, then ‘Tides’ is likely to follow suit.

Listen to ‘Tides’ below. You can find out more about The Transonics and their music online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and their official website. - Essentially Pop / Lisa Hafey

Mega kudos to The Transonics, the fun-loving six piece power poppers from Columbia, South Carolina who sport not only a sly, sultry, full throated female lead singer (Patti Davis) who sounds delightfully like she just took the Delorean from the mid-80s, but also offer extensive, engaging and quirky details on how the six infectious tracks of their new EP Tides came to be.


If they’re new on your radar, you might spend more of your listening time pondering the s magical punchy, soulful, jangling and wholly contemporary fusion of classic surf, psychedelic rock and new wave elements created by David Burnett’s spirited guitarisma, keyboardist Michael Smith’s dazzling sonic hypnosis and drummer/percussionist Josh Brannon’s edgy, always imaginative grooving.


But the stories behind the songs, including two directly inspired by Burnett’s chihuahua Gidget are a hoot – and very much worth sharing since they help us realize the creative spark can come from anywhere. The chorus of the playfully swinging, vocal harmony driven “When You Were Mine” – “Hey there darling, Oh you’re sky is falling. . .won’t go in the rain” – originally started with “Hey little doggy,” aimed at the pooch because he wouldn’t go out when it was raining. The other Gidget tune is “Getcha,” a fiery, punk-ish rocker with a heart of gold about the dog’s difficult socialization process after a rough start in life – and the group’s vow that no matter what it takes, “I’m gonna get your love tonight.”


Their other inspirations include a friend of the band who did some “Orange Sunshine” back in the 60’s, resulting in the EP’s dreamiest seduction; the subtle dangers of “this potion” when you’re looking for “Tequila Love”; and, certainly par for the course with any music coming out in 2021, the COVID lockdown, with the trippy mid-tempo ballad “Midnight” reflecting the utter “Groundhog Day”-ness of the year.


True to their band name, The Transonics offer a cool throwback to the 60’s to 80s’ era of rock but transcend mere nostalgia with their hipster swirl of all those fascinating elements. - The JW Vibe

At once both retrospective and devilishly futuristic at the same time, creative duality hits us like a ton of bricks in the opening cut and title track of The Transonics’ new EP Tides, but as we listen on, its split personality becomes a point of cohesion no one in the audience will be able to ignore. What The Transonics are trying to pull off in this record is so much bigger than what you’d normally expect out of an extended play running just under thirty minutes in total length, but all things considered, their atmospheric melodicism and sharp lyricism couldn’t have found a better venue through which to shine. With nothing in this tracklist but single-quality diamonds, there’s no mining for personality nor musical wisdom in this fine new record.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thetransonics/

“When You Were Mine” keeps the hard throttle indie rock going at a more casual, almost neo-balladic tempo, but this isn’t to say that The Transonics start sacrificing moxie for melodic fireworks here at all. “Tequila” probably has the most experimental profile of any song on the EP, though I wouldn’t say that it dwarfs the ambitiousness of the material it sits beside at all. Instead, I think it does a lot to support the centerpiece of Tides from a poetic perspective; after all, its instrumentation bids hello to a more adventurous angle of their sound we might not have noticed beforehand whilst the lyrics touch on the consistencies between this release and their rookie LP that arrived some two years ago now.

My two favorite tracks from Tides are probably the conflictive “Orange Sunshine” and “Getcha,” but not because of what they’re about or even the way they’re made up to sound as colorful as they would on stage somewhere. To me, they represent the two bands The Transonics have been since their formation – a spunky punky indie rock crew and a careful, deliberate postmodern pop outfit that has everything from conceptualism to tonal communication on their mind in the studio, and when they’re brought together inside of the same extended play as they have been here, the results are brilliant to say the least. I find myself coming back to the word ‘immersive’ whenever I listen to this record, and it’s not because of the high definition production quality alone – it’s the skill these musicians are affording every note they play.

APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/tides/1572078955?i=1572078958

We wrap up Tides with the softer, slinky “Midnight,” but even in this quiet burst of energy, catharsis is never very hard to find. The Transonics have been flying under the mainstream radar for a while now, but in this EP we start to see some of their most breathtaking elements surfacing with a distinctly potent sonic hue, and it’s something I could get used to as both a music critic and a genuine fan. Tides has all the cornerstone moments I would demand from a studio album, but neatly packaged inside of a record that could segue between LPs as much as it could potentially soundtrack the most memorable section of a summer road trip. - Vents Magazine

THE TRANSONICS - LOST IN TIME
3/11/2020 0 Comments

Picture
The Transonics

​Lost In Time
​self-released; 2019

4.0 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

The Transonics is a female fronted six-piece band from Columbia, South Carolina, that got to work quickly. Their latest release Lost In Time is an eleven-song album that comes in at thirty- three-minutes in length.

The vibe here was very rock n’ roll. I was thinking about bands with powerful female singers like Heart and Patti Smith. There was a ’70s type of energy to the music which melded elements of psychedelia, classic rock and more to my ears.

I found the album to be an easy listen in the best way possible. The band trimmed the fat off these songs. You are greeted with hooks, memorable melodies and more of the good stuff. What you don’t get is a long, cerebral intro that goes nowhere or noodling guitar solos.

I thought that the album had a lot of highlights to my ears. The title track “Lost In Time’' absolutely soars and really starts off the album in a way that gets your adrenaline pumping. Suffice it to say it was a track that starts the album off on the right foot.

​There is so much attitude and danger on a song like “Secret Code.” It reminded me of the song “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles. Songs like “Waiting” and “You’re So Pretty” are undeniably infectious and fun. There are even ballads like “Indigo.” They start to wind down the album with some serious rock songs but something about “Signs” made me feel like I was in ’80s nostalgia. I loved that song.

This is a great rock album that brings the best of what the genre has to offer like fun, freedom and memorable tunes. I was impressed by how seamless and cohesive the album was and fully encourage you to listen to from beginning to end. Additionally, I loved how inviting the songs were which didn't feel the least bit pretentious. It felt like the band wants to rock out with you. Recommended. - Divide and Conquer

ALBUM REVIEW: The Transonics – Lost In Time

BEST TRACKS: Lost In Time, Love and a Blue Light, You’re So Pretty

FCC Clean

This 6-piece band from Columbia very aptly named their debut album, Lost In Time, as it sounds like a blast from the past, belonging to the early 80s but by some heavenly fluke was born in the year 2020 instead. The Transonics are a severely underrated band, with less than 1,000 listens on any given song on spotify. However, when fantastic yet obscure bands are in need of a spotlight, that’s when college radio really shines. With the release of Lost In Time, the transonics are starting to take college radios across the country by storm. This eleven song album soars from beginning to end. What really excites me about this album is that the Transonics are a female-fronted band and strong feminine energy courses through every song in both the vocals and the writing.

The Transonics sound like a mix of the fun and infectious powerpop of No Doubt and the grungy rock and roll of Foo Fighters, with a twinge of early 80s psychedelica. The thing that stood out to me most was that lead vocalist Patti Davis has an electrifying voice that sounds uncannily similar to Gwen Stefani. After a short, 30 second intro, Lost In Time opens with the dreamy title track ‘Lost In Time’ which contains glittering hooks and spacy lyrics about wishes and daydreams.

Lost In Time is reminiscent of simpler times, when the grilled cheese Uncrustables were still a part of school lunches. This album caught my attention because of the album cover, which looks like it came straight out of a Lisa Frank coloring book, and it kept me listening, enchanted, with its exhilarating energy and irresistible riffs. I recommend this album if you want something sweet and lively to boost your mood after a gloomy session of browsing social media, or if you’ve ever been obsessed with the Bratz movies.

Safia

Tags
Album Review, Safia, The Transonics, The Transonics Lost In Time, The Transonics Lost In Time Album Review, WKNC, WKNC 88. - WKNC 88.1

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Today’s show features hot new music with The Transonics. Come join the fun! - iHeartRADIO

The Transonics’ Side A teleports you to the teased beehives and leopard print leather jackets of mid-’80s New Wave groups like The B-52’s and The Pretenders.
The Columbia band’s first EP kicks off with “Signs,” which melds Phil Spector drums with the resigned lyricism of early Chrissie Hynde. Lead singer Patti Davis sings, “We could hit replay and / Go back to happier days and / Maybe we could have some fun,” with a tone that suggests she doesn’t believe her own inner pollyanna. It’s a spunky introduction to a uniformly stellar collection.
But it isn’t all sweet pop and cotton candy. Take the 6/8 saunter of “Indigo,” where Davis’ vocal melody recalls David Bowie. She pleads, “Open up your heart / Even if it leaves some scars / Don’t be scared and don’t give up.” Elsewhere, the mercurial “You’re So Pretty” outlines the ways in which men shut down women and derail their voices.

At times, the sonic landscape is too barren, needing more detail work. Where are the handclaps? Or the bullhorns? Or gang vocals? These are the aural touchstones of New Wave and their absence feels like a missed opportunity to lean into the campy aesthetic. Still, there are strong arrangements here — for instance, the celeste on “You’re So Pretty” adds a nice flair against the rising minor progression. Side A is polished enough; it could just use a few more sounds.
But to focus on all of that granular stuff is to miss the chaotic energy of The Transonics. They may bill themselves as retro rock, but the truth is the B-movie jangle of “Pontiac” or the chunky blues of “Secret Code” are things that never go out of style. - Free Times / Post and Courier

Out today, ‘Tides’ is the new single from The Transonics, taken from their upcoming self released EP of the same name, which is due out on August 13.
Channelling a little bit of Mike Oldfield, all the surf bands you’ve ever heard of, and Stevie Nicks, ‘Tides’ is a bright piece of power-pop that will resonate in your brain for ages after it’s finished. The female-led six piece band from Columbia, South Carolina, specialise in infectious, danceable, high energy music that draws the listener in, and just refuses to let go again. There’s something to ‘Tides’ that reminds us a little bit too of The B-52s, and we really enjoy the idea of that.

‘Tides’ follows on from The Transonics’ debut album, ‘Lost In Time’, released last year. That album spent 13 weeks on the NACC charts, and if the lead single is anything to go by, then ‘Tides’ is likely to follow suit.

Listen to ‘Tides’ below. You can find out more about The Transonics and their music online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and their official website. - Essentially Pop

A sexy rhythm and a surreal but nonetheless chaotic melody are waiting to greet anyone who comes into the fold of “Tequila” this season, but much like the other tracks in The Transonics’ new record Tides, cosmetic luster is only one side of the coin here. The Transonics find themselves amidst a generation of experimentalists in 2021 threatening to marginalize any indie players who don’t go the extra mile in the recording studio, but in Tides, they make it more than clear that sonic virtuosities – and the exploitation thereof – is their top priority at the moment.

“Tequila” and “Orange Sunshine” both have quite the prominent 60s pop vibes, but I wouldn’t say anything in this tracklist sounds like an all-out throwback. There’s definitely a classic pop appreciation throughout the EP, and especially in the hooks of the aforementioned songs, and I think that by showing us how handily they can manipulate familiar themes here, The Transonics make it hard for any critics to debate whether or not they’ve got the kind of versatility it takes to make the jump from the minors to the pros without facing too many hiccups along the way.



Pop melodies are never far from reach in this record, even in the roar of “Getcha” or the surrealisms of the title track and “Midnight;” from top to bottom, it feels like the band wanted to make as straightforwardly constructed an EP in Tides as possible without sounding like they wanted to recreate a Beatles-like format. We start off in a hazy dreamscape and end with what feels like a late-night awakening in “Midnight” that might as well be called 6:00 AM given its refreshing but abrasive punch, and without tripping into progressive territory the lyrics uphold a conceptual narrative I would love to hear the group elaborate on a bit more in an LP.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thetransonics/

“Orange Sunshine” and “When You Were Mine” aren’t quite folk/rock, but they’re flirting with a bleached compositional wit that fosters pastoral sentiments like they’re going out of style, and I’d love to hear what both songs sound like on an acoustic guitar sometime in the future. The minimalist qualities in Tides are probably the most alluring just because of the decadence they’re able to produce despite their limited features, and in this particular era of alternative music, I think the approach The Transonics take in this record could become a well-respected one inside of a short tour in the near future.

I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of a full-length this band is going to cut as a follow-up to their 2019 greenhorn disc, but right now what they’ve got for us in the Tides EP showcases a group of players creating something more intellectually fascinating for the hardcore music buff than anything I’ve heard lately by leaps and bounds. The Transonics owe something to the post-punk and indie rock of the old school, but they’re also making a strain of rock n’ roll that belongs in the here and now, which isn’t the case with a lot of their contemporaries’ output at all.

Loren Sperry - Music Existence

At once both retrospective and devilishly futuristic at the same time, creative duality hits us like a ton of bricks in the opening cut and title track of The Transonics’ new EP Tides, but as we listen on, its split personality becomes a point of cohesion no one in the audience will be able to ignore. What The Transonics are trying to pull off in this record is so much bigger than what you’d normally expect out of an extended play running just under thirty minutes in total length, but all things considered, their atmospheric melodicism and sharp lyricism couldn’t have found a better venue through which to shine. With nothing in this tracklist but single-quality diamonds, there’s no mining for personality nor musical wisdom in this fine new record.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thetransonics/

“When You Were Mine” keeps the hard throttle indie rock going at a more casual, almost neo-balladic tempo, but this isn’t to say that The Transonics start sacrificing moxie for melodic fireworks here at all. “Tequila” probably has the most experimental profile of any song on the EP, though I wouldn’t say that it dwarfs the ambitiousness of the material it sits beside at all. Instead, I think it does a lot to support the centerpiece of Tides from a poetic perspective; after all, its instrumentation bids hello to a more adventurous angle of their sound we might not have noticed beforehand whilst the lyrics touch on the consistencies between this release and their rookie LP that arrived some two years ago now.

My two favorite tracks from Tides are probably the conflictive “Orange Sunshine” and “Getcha,” but not because of what they’re about or even the way they’re made up to sound as colorful as they would on stage somewhere. To me, they represent the two bands The Transonics have been since their formation – a spunky punky indie rock crew and a careful, deliberate postmodern pop outfit that has everything from conceptualism to tonal communication on their mind in the studio, and when they’re brought together inside of the same extended play as they have been here, the results are brilliant to say the least. I find myself coming back to the word ‘immersive’ whenever I listen to this record, and it’s not because of the high definition production quality alone – it’s the skill these musicians are affording every note they play.

APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/tides/1572078955?i=1572078958

We wrap up Tides with the softer, slinky “Midnight,” but even in this quiet burst of energy, catharsis is never very hard to find. The Transonics have been flying under the mainstream radar for a while now, but in this EP we start to see some of their most breathtaking elements surfacing with a distinctly potent sonic hue, and it’s something I could get used to as both a music critic and a genuine fan. Tides has all the cornerstone moments I would demand from a studio album, but neatly packaged inside of a record that could segue between LPs as much as it could potentially soundtrack the most memorable section of a summer road trip.

by Jennifer Munoz - Vents Magazine

Mega kudos to The Transonics, the fun-loving six piece power poppers from Columbia, South Carolina who sport not only a sly, sultry, full throated female lead singer (Patti Davis) who sounds delightfully like she just took the Delorean from the mid-80s, but also offer extensive, engaging and quirky details on how the six infectious tracks of their new EP Tides came to be.


If they’re new on your radar, you might spend more of your listening time pondering the s magical punchy, soulful, jangling and wholly contemporary fusion of classic surf, psychedelic rock and new wave elements created by David Burnett’s spirited guitarisma, keyboardist Michael Smith’s dazzling sonic hypnosis and drummer/percussionist Josh Brannon’s edgy, always imaginative grooving.


But the stories behind the songs, including two directly inspired by Burnett’s chihuahua Gidget are a hoot – and very much worth sharing since they help us realize the creative spark can come from anywhere. The chorus of the playfully swinging, vocal harmony driven “When You Were Mine” – “Hey there darling, Oh you’re sky is falling. . .won’t go in the rain” – originally started with “Hey little doggy,” aimed at the pooch because he wouldn’t go out when it was raining. The other Gidget tune is “Getcha,” a fiery, punk-ish rocker with a heart of gold about the dog’s difficult socialization process after a rough start in life – and the group’s vow that no matter what it takes, “I’m gonna get your love tonight.”


Their other inspirations include a friend of the band who did some “Orange Sunshine” back in the 60’s, resulting in the EP’s dreamiest seduction; the subtle dangers of “this potion” when you’re looking for “Tequila Love”; and, certainly par for the course with any music coming out in 2021, the COVID lockdown, with the trippy mid-tempo ballad “Midnight” reflecting the utter “Groundhog Day”-ness of the year.


True to their band name, The Transonics offer a cool throwback to the 60’s to 80s’ era of rock but transcend mere nostalgia with their hipster swirl of all those fascinating elements. - The JW Vibe

Retro songwriting doesn’t have to automatically mean recycled style, and I don’t know that there’s another record to prove as much quite as well as The Transonics’ Tides does this August. Incorporating influences as diverse as moderate post-punk, indie rock, garage rock physicality, psychedelic rock, and chamber pop, Tides has a buxom ambitiousness that seems to overstate itself beside the rather minimalistic tracklist, but this feels intentional on the part of The Transonics in every way. Instead of running away from the eclectic elements in their sound, the band embraces them wholeheartedly in tracks like “Tequila” and “Orange Sunshine.”
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thetransonics/
Here, they find sophistication through the simplicity of the punk structuring of “Getcha” and fleeting romanticism of “Midnight” just as they would a more experimental thrust ala “When You Were Mine” and the title cut. There isn’t anything synthetic or plasticized getting between the artists and their target audience in this extended play, but instead a lot of forward movement on the part of the musicians themselves, each of whom sounds a little more comforted by the studio in these recordings than they did the first time we heard from them back in 2019.
The vocal shapes the core aesthetic of “Tequila” and “Midnight” rather poetically, authenticating the sting of the strings as much as it would convey lyrics independent of the instrumentation’s emotional framework. The most fascinating verses come in the title track of Tides, leaving open so many avenues of interpretation that there’s really no room to deny the multidimensionality of the song’s most basic focal point.
Even when they’re stripping away any and all unnecessary varnish from “Orange Sunshine” and “Getcha,” The Transonics sound like an act that cares about the glossiness of a harmony so long as it emphasizes the passion behind the words. They’re going out of their way to cover as many of the bases as they can, and yet they’re not stretching themselves thin by any means — Tides is tailored to what this band can and can’t do, and for all intents and purposes it teases a greater desire to expand upon a theme than I would have ever expected it to.
For an EP that plays like an LP in every way that actually counts for something, The Transonics have one of the hottest new releases to land on my desk this summer. There’s been a lot of talk about the college rock revival of the early 2020s lately, and while I’m a little skeptical about getting on that bandwagon at the moment, there’s no getting around the smart, post-R.E.M. sound that this group is cultivating on the sidelines of the mainstream.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/tides-ep/1572182831
Lyrically and musically, this is an extended play that has just about everything the serious alternative rock aficionado counts on from a premium release, and if granted the opportunity to do so I believe that The Transonics will get even better than this disc advertises. Lean and mean in the studio but unafraid of deep-thinking concepts, Tides is a must-listen if you’re into the next wave in credible indie rock.
Colin Jordan - Colin Jordan / Medium.com