The Rising Tide

Sunny Day Real Estate isn’t the biggest band in the world, but they sure act like it. Their saga includes a three-year hiatus during which frontman Jeremy Enigk went looking for God and their rhythm section went looking for gigs with the Foo Fighters. It also includes the most dramatic arena-rock bravado this side of U2 (before U2 became an art project). Enigk’s pained lyrics can get loopy, but dynamic songs overpower even the most cringe-inducing refrains, distinguishing SDRE from the piss-and-moan indie-rock masses.