On 2001’s Is This Room Getting Smaller? album, OneSideZerodropped an album of immense melody and intense musicianship on arelatively unsuspecting music scene. Different from the vastly popularand over-populated Nu-Metal scene, they peddled more melodies in onesong than many band of the day had on an entire album.

Nowback with their eponymous sophomore release, it’s really like theynever left. “Carry Your Gun” opens proceedings with a bang, blendingall the elements we’ve come to treasure (soft, husky melodic parts andmore angst-ridden verses). This would make a very good single.

Oneof the best things about this band is that they defy comparisons –there really is no one else out there that sounds like them. True, theyhave certain elements that might sound (if only read about) prettystandard, but when you actually hear Jason Radford’s vocals, how he isable to switch effortlessly from a clean, almost angelic sung vocal toa rabble-rousing cry for revolution (“Breath”) is refreshing to say theleast. Think Tool if it was fronted by someone whocould not only write a decent melody, but also stick with it for longenough for everyone to care, mixed with the instrumentation of Jimmy Eat World or Strata at their harshest. Perhaps not the best description, but that’s the image my mind conjures when I think about it.

While for a long time we only had lead single “My Confession” to whet our appetites in the lead up to OneSideZero’s release, the song is another microcosm of OSZ’ssound, with its rousing choruses and harsher middle-eight, if you likethe single, you will definitely like the whole album. It has become aheavy-rotation song on my stereo and playlist (actually, it’s on theretwice, to make it more prevalent).

It’snot all balls-to-the-wall metallic melody, though; “Levitation” bringsthings back to a more calm pace, a moment of calm respite after thethree opening cuts.