SYMPHONY IN DEMEANOUR – The Second One (Private Pressing)
For their second album (obviously) SID have produced a clutch of songs to rival their excellent debut. They may be older than most of the bands that make it into this column, but that experience really shows in the songwriting and playing, and they have years of influences to draw on in making their music. You can hear snatches of bands ranging from the mid 60’s right up to date, although their style of music does indicate that the late 60’s/early 70’s must be a favourite period of theirs. ‘She’ll Never Find It’ is a great pop/rock song to open the album, and the professionalism that I have come to expect from them is all present and correct. Great vocals, great playing, and a great song. An accordian adds a French flavour to ‘Dreams’ and is another catchy piece, while ‘What She Needs’ has a quirky enough melody to bring to mind XTC. ‘Everybody Knows’ is the first slow song of the disc, and the lovely melody brings to mind the best of the Beatles ballads, while the slide guitar evokes a slight country feel. ‘Vision Without Eyes’ is a slow rocker with some fine playing, and they end the album with the harmony laden ‘Let The Children Play’, which also features some fine guitar and ‘I Am The Walrus’ type weirdness at the end. Every song has a catchy melody, superb playing, great vocals, and is what real rock music should be about. Available really cheaply from their the band themselves, or if you can’t afford that then you can actually download it for free. Do yourself a favour and check out their website on