Sunny Day Real Estate’s 2000 swan song The Rising Tide trades the raw, cathartic emo-core of their earlier work for a sweeping, immaculate canvas of progressive rock and symphonic grandeur. Produced with a massive, arena-sized sheen, the record builds around Dan Hoerner’s intricately layered, shimmering guitar work and William Goldsmith’s thunderous, cathedral-echoing drum patterns. Jeremy Enigk’s soaring vocals shift away from scathing shrieks toward a controlled, almost angelic operatic range—reaching high-register falsettos that evoke classic prog frontmen—while floating above rich orchestration filled with string arrangements, subtle synth drones, and Eastern-influenced melodic scales. Tracks surge and retreat like the ocean tides they frequently evoke, balancing heavy, driving anthems like "One" with sprawling, atmospheric ballads like "Rain Song." The result is a polished, ambitious, and emotionally resonant masterpiece that bridges 90s alt-rock passion with the theatrical scale of classic 70s art-rock.