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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Sidewave

Glass Giant

Review by Gary Hill

Alternative rock is probably the one consistent element here. That’s always blended with other things as this adventure unfolds. Space rock, shoc-gaze, metal and more emerge on this album. It’s quite an entertaining disc, really.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2015  Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Grounded
Hard edged, this is cool stuff. It’s part alternative rock, part metal and part space rock. There are bits of psychedelia in the mix, too.
Lace
This is energetic and more along the lines of alternative rock turned shoe-gaze. I like this thing quite a bit. It’s a change, but still connected to what came before.
Supersonic
Take the kind of sound we heard in the previous song and add some hints of old school space rock to it. You’ll be in the neighborhood of this piece. It’s one of the strongest cuts here, really.
Sundrop
While there are no big changes here, this cut combines alternative rock and psychedelia and makes it into something strong.
Honest to God
Heavier, this has a bit of a stoner metal vibe to it in some ways. It’s one of my favorites here.
Pines
Now, this one is very much in the modern prog vein of things like Radiohead. It’s a nice change and a strong piece of music. I like the balance between mellower and harder rocking territory.
Moonshine
This hard rocker is solid, but not really a big change. Still, it’s strong enough that it’s not feeling tired or repetitive, really.
Romance is Dead
Another driving alternative rocker, it’s getting rather formulaic by this point. That said, the vocal arrangement works quite well here. The meaty hard rocking jam later is a nice touch, too.
Hearts
I dig the shoegaze jam mid-track. That manages to help this rise above the sea of similarities.
This Is Who You Are
There are some particularly heavy moments here. There are also some proggy elements at times. This is one of the stronger pieces of the disc. It’s less similar, too.
Illusion of Light
The earlier parts of this are mellower and more melodic, but it rocks out more later.
Crystallized
This has a very proggy movement early, but turns out to a killer alternative rocking section later. It’s one of the stronger cuts on show, making it a good choice to close the set.
 
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