SideKicK

So Far Away (2004)

jay

Upon receiving this CD my eyes instantly lit as I noticed who was involved in the making of it: Cargo Music. I instantly recoiled in the joy early Blink 182 records have given me over the years and slapped the CD in and sat back and took it all in. And While ‘Sidekick' cannot be compared to San Diego's finest, they show a certain charm that reminds you of Mark, Tom, Travis (and Scott's) earlier days. The four piece are pretty much your standard three chord pop-punk lunatics and there is nothing particularly groundbreaking about them, but this is the kind of record you can listen to for 25 minutes and simply enjoy.

Opener and title track ‘So Far Away' kicks it off in uneventful fashion with the song leaving little to the imagination in terms of original ideas. Luckily ‘The Crunch' is aptly named and brings a much-needed edge to their music as the pace is picked up a little bit and the lyrics distinctly improve. Bouncy and uplifting arrangements shadow ‘Killing You', but one of the finer tracks on show is the infectious ‘Crazy' as a 53 second intro brings you into a very old-school Blink 182 style sound. This is also one of the first and best examples of the two vocalists duelling with each other in a battle that runs throughout the ten tracks.

‘No Future' unfortunately proves fairly lacklustre and seems scrappy in comparison to others on show although the duo of Landon and Dio on vocals proves a saving grace once again. ‘Instrumental Absinthe' is (as you guessed) an instrumental tribute to Screeching Weasel, but the best tracks of the album rears themselves with the energetic ‘Inside my Head' and the chirpy ‘Personality'. The latter showing signs of genuine ingenuity as the natty vocals of drummer Dio prove a highlight. ‘On my Own' is slightly darker and final track ‘Generation' tries to end on a slightly grand scale but falls short.

Sidekick have the usual array of things for and against them. They are bouncy, lively and have a bit of a punch to them that others don't in their respective genre, but at the end of the day they will find it difficult to come out kicking and screaming of their crowded scene. Here is to all the success possible in the future as their music does show one quality. It is very likeable.