Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

Those music buffs who regularly attend Cornwall's Creation Fest will know this band of brothers - with the exception of guitarist, Chris Vasquez - from New York as they keep coming back to minister year after year. This six track EP sounds more West Coast than New York with the opener, "Feel It", rocking along very nicely, sounding a little like The Byrds if they had ever teamed up with Coldplay. The second track "God Leads Us Along" has a CSNY-feel to it, albeit with considerably higher bounce factor making it a fun listen though the a cappella breakdown at the end didn't really work for me. Next song "Pride On Parade" ran fine with its Dodgy-esque harmonies (okay, not so West Coast) before the title track and its spaghetti western guitar intro took over. The best-arranged track on the album, it builds nicely, layer on layer working its way into your head. "Swing Low" was a surprising change in style but the album would have been better without its semi-rapped verse (although the Clapton-style guitar licks were a nice touch). It all wraps up with an acoustic version of the opening track which wasn't as good as the rockier version. Overall, there are some good songs, good arrangements and good harmonies here but 'This Side Of The Sea' lacks overall stylistic cohesion to make it top rate.

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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