Reviewed by Mark Goodge

According to the accompanying blurb, SideProject (with the interstitial capital P) are a three-piece student band from Grimsby. This is overtly a demo CD, rather than an attempt to dress up a demo as a commercial "release", something for which the band are to be commended! All the tracks are available for download at the band website, allowing anyone to make up their own mind about the music. As far as the music itself goes, this is quite a good effort - while the low-budget production does show through at times, it doesn't detract too much from the songs themselves. The style varies from mellow balladry through mid-tempo indie rock to an almost punky feel in places, and it's obvious that the band members combine both good musicianship and good songwriting abilities. My only real criticism is that the female vocalist drifts off-key a few times, a common flaw on budget recordings - you can get away with more latitude when playing live, but the studio magnifies any mistakes. There's nothing wrong here that more discipline (and a few more recording takes) can't fix, though. In fact, had SideProject put this onto a manufactured CD with a proper inlay card and called it an independent release, it would stand up well against a lot of those received at Cross Rhythms towers. With a decent recording budget and the services of a rather more demanding producer, the material on here would form the basis for a strong commercial release.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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