I must confess before I start this review, that I don’t know a great deal about grunge music, but what I do know about is Take That, and I have to take issue with another reviewer who has described The Life Project, as “taking unashamedly direct strides down the pathway of pop laid down by Manchester’s favourite sons, Take That”. This young band from the Widnes/Runcorn area do not sound like Take That. What they do sound like, is a high powered slice of indie/pop, which I have mixed feelings about.

Lyrically, they have some interesting, and quite mature ideas, though the words can sometimes get lost in the slightly overpowering musical arrangements in their songs. That said, the lyrics do fit in well with the mood and style of each song, with ‘Animal Friendly’ being a prime example. Here the mood is frantic, angry, desperate, and the lyrics vividly bring to mind the image of a caged animal wanting to escape. For me, I don’t think Grunge tracks like this are the easiest to listen to, but it’s a good attempt at the genre. Their other My Space songs will have a broader appeal, leaning more towards pop melodies, catchy guitar riffs, and well crafted rhythms. ‘Jaguar’ is definitely the sing-a-long live track for me, and the interestingly titled ’11:11’ is an easy listening fun track, which reminds me of the pop/punk that has made McFly famous. This, along with their final track ‘Codis’ are demo’s, albeit very consistent ones.

In all honesty, I was glad to move on from the grunge style track to something easier to relate to, but all in all I think The Life Project have produced some well written songs, that have the potential to carry them further up the ladder. I would like to hear more of the lyrics, and perhaps a stripped down acoustic version of some of their songs, would then enable them to enhance their vocal performance, and add some variety to the tempo of their live set. That said, I think they are heading in the right direction, and evidently making an impression on their local music scene.

Check them out for yourselves at www.myspace.com/thelifeprojectofficial