The Seas We Sail, the debut full-length album from Tidewater, released with an army of acoustic guitars, a hearty dose of mandolin, plenty of piano, plus bits of programmed pulsation.

The one-man band, helmed by singer/songwriter Brett Allen, is as diverse as it is innovative, drawing comparisons to such acts as OneRepublic, Owl City, Dashboard Confessional and Five For Fighting.

On The Seas We Sail, Allen dives beyond radio commonplace to weave a compelling web of unforgettable rhythms, introspective lyrics and plenty of porch pop personality.

“Tidewater’s more just a guy behind a piano or with an acoustic guitar; it’s actually hard to put a finger on,” notes Allen of his eclectic songwriting. “I’ve become obsessed with the mandolin thanks to Nickel Creek, and now I follow The Punch Brothers, but there are also a lot of programmed beats in what I do. It’s kind of parallel in dynamic to Mumford and Sons, who mainly play folk instruments, but are so heavy with their constant strumming that they come across like Muse.

“With Tidewater, there may be some bluegrass instruments, but there’s plenty of pop and rock that might appeal to fans of John Mayer, Howie Day or Matt Wertz, with my own twist.”

The Seas We Sail, produced by Kevin Gales, is filled with Tidewater originals, with the exception of Matt Maher’s “Christ is Risen.” Gales, whose production credits include luminaries like Sarah McLachlan, Bob Seger, Fiona Apple, Courtney Love, Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks, also co-wrote several tracks on the album.

Allen is consistently hopeful in its lyrical slant, following in the footsteps of Switchfoot, whose faith-informed messages still have no trouble translating to the world at large. The Seas We Sail is loaded with some great introspective and engaging songs.

The Voice of NewReleaseTuesday.com, Bill Lurwick, recently chatted with Brett Allen about The Seas We Sail.


I've got to tell you Brett, I popped in the project from Tidewater this morning, and for some reason I thought it was going to be a worship project. I was really surprised. I don't know why. Stylistically what would you say it was?

It’s secular, but my faith obviously comes out in my writing, I think. Stylistically, we narrowed it down to some sort of folky-pop indie rock.

That’s quite a description there--folky-pop indie rock. I like that. Now, it’s just you, right? You’ve got a couple of people helping you out on the project, but you’re behind Tidewater.

Yeah, it was a solo project. I played most of the instruments on the record. From a purely logistical standpoint, though, Tidewater is an ambiguous thing that could be in Waco while I’m at school or it can be in St. Louis while I’m home.

So, how did you come up with the name Tidewater? You're Brett Allen—how does the name fit in with you?

We went with a moniker simply for marketing reasons, just because because can assume “Brett Allen” is a guy on acoustic guitar, or a guy at the piano. That's fine, but that’s just not the direction we wanted to go. So, we went with a moniker. Tidewater is simply the name of my street that I grew up on.

See, I was thinking that if you ever want to get into pro wrestling, Brett Allen would be a good wrestling name.

I’ll keep that in mind.

A lot of people say that your lyrical content is real similar to Switchfoot. Are you a fan of the group?

I am. Switchfoot’s direction--especially where they’ve gone as a band--has been an influence. Absolutely John Foreman’s writing is, and anybody saying that my writing is anything remotely close to John Foreman's... that is just the biggest compliment I can ever receive.

Talk about some of these tracks The Seas We Sail. Tell us about the song “City Lights.”

“City Lights,” that was about as hopeful a song as it gets. That one could mean anything to anybody, really. To me, it was about this perfect date thing where you’re in this infatuation stage and things are peachy. Things are great. It expresses what we all want.

How many instruments do you play? I read that you fell in love with the mandolin, right?

Yeah, I did. I’ve been playing the mandolin since about eighth grade, and I played it for this record. I fell in love with it. It’s just a great instrument. I was inspired by Christy Lee of Nickel Creek, and I really got into it. Additionally, I play piano on the record, and guitars and stuff.

You're keeping busy man. You’re a full-time college student and doing all that as well. Are you playing anywhere?

We’re playing around in Waco. Definitely we’ll get more aggressive with touring once this whole college thing is wrapped up.