Side Project
When looking for new music to check out, look no further than Leicester, UK, the home of Pop Rock/Pop Punk band Side Project. Side Project are a band that know exactly what they want and one that will commit to making that dream a reality.
Priding themselves on writing songs with big choruses that everyone can sing along with the band always striving to push boundaries. Side Project have consistently worked on and evolved their sound whilst finding influence in a range of different songwriters and genres.
Formed in 2017, Side Project started as a bit of fun between a couple of best friends, who decided to start writing music together, as time went on, the desire to push this band to limits became more obvious and the idea of 'making it' became the main focus. 2019 saw a substantial change in the band who had previously remained an internet-based project to playing live shows, through their ever-growing fan base, the band practically sold the venue out on pre-sales alone and the band has gone from strength to strength ever since. In 2020 Side Project went back to the studio to finish off the recording process of debut album Bittersweet. Recording the album through a pandemic and remotely sharing ideas was a new process for the band and although this wouldn’t have been anyone’s preferred choice for writing material the end result is a collection of songs that the band couldn’t be more proud of.
The future looks bright for Side Project with plans to continue evolving their sound and continuing to write music that resonates with each listener
Side Project is:
Ben Pritchard: Lead Vocals
Josh Vale: Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Phil Robinson: Lead Guitar
Matt West: Bass
Alex Hudson: Drums
Find more on Side Project:
Releases
Reviews
Thoughts Words Action – http://thoughtswordsaction.com/2021/08/26/side-project-bittersweet-cd-engineer-records
It’s been a while since I covered pop-punk releases on these pages, so one of these releases from the Engineer Records comes in handy for this occasion. I have to admit that I am not entirely familiar with contemporary pop-punk scene, but I stumbled upon some brilliant pop-punk groups here and there. Side Project is one of the latest additions to the Engineer Records roster, as far as I am informed, so recently this label released their debut full-length called Bittersweet. Still, this is not the first recording by this Leicester quintet. Since their formation, the group released series of singles, such as 2002, Sanity, A Thousand Goodbyes, Worst Of Me, It’s Not A Title It’s A Label, and Sad Songs. Today, I would like to talk a bit more about their full-length material.
Bittersweet consists of eleven ear-appealing pop-punk songs that differ in one way or another. Still, the entire recording sounds compact and meets all the standards of the latest pop-punk trends. Besides vividly hearable dominance of contemporary pop-punk sound, you may hear some other popular subgenres, such as melodic punk rock, post-hardcore, indie rock, and emo. However, Side Project keeps their tunes within modern pop-punk circles as much as possible, and these other elements are there to highlight particular segments. Side Project easily transits from mellow sounds to more aggressive tones, from calmy melodies to more dynamic riffs, but it seems that the group leans towards more polyphonic waters while the aggressive moments serve to give a bit of diversity.
Each composition offers pleasant, soothing, ear-appealing melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, and riffs. Side Project transforms from mellow verses to cathartic, singalongish choruses with such ease, and those are the moments where the group showcases its full potential. The group pays a lot of attention to every single detail. From flawlessly performed rhythm and lead guitar parts over thoughtfully assembled basslines to excellent drumming performance and profoundly melodic lead vocals, Side Project possesses everything you ever needed from a pop-punk band. Bittersweet comes on a compact disc, but you can also listen to it on streaming platforms. Head over to Engineer Records for more detailed information about ordering.