REVIEW: Sycamore – Live at Project T

Ok, so you wouldn’t really expect me to have a review of something I am part of…but I really think its needed, just so people don’t think we think we’re all that. The following review is kind of a song-by-song evaluation.

Well, the night (worship concert) starts off with the songs we played at TC2006. In fact, we start of with the clear, refreshing sound from Lorraine. However, the same unity that was at TC wasn’t exactly at the same level that night. We can’t exactly blame the A/V for this, even though they decide to switch to individual channels in the last minute of There Is None Like You. If you thought this was the last of the A/V blunders, keep listening and you’ll find more…ranging from “We Are The Champions” suddenly playing in one of the songs (in the master), to dizzy panning from stereo to left in Always. Recording quality, however, is another topic soon touched.

From TINLY, we immediately transition to a smoother Be My Everything. At TC06, that was a song we hadn’t really practiced, and just by chance, I printed it out in the morning just in case we wanted to do for some strange reason. Since then, the unity and order has improved a lot. If the recording hadn’t been blasted, it would have sounded even more decent, not that it isnt already moderately ok.

In Forevermore (Awesome God), we immediately see what level Adwin is at…which isn’t too high, as he messes up the opening solo already. Plenty more mess ups are on the horizon, don’t you worry. At this point, the unity is once again shakey, but manageable. The blasting however, is not. Some work is needed though, when two extraordinary, capable vocals sing at the same time – one needs to decides when to sing harmony and when the other leads, unless both decide its better to lead. However, Chris’ enthusiasm, energy and unique voice brings out the individuality of this band. Expect to see more of this in the other songs.

Finally, we move on to the last TC06 song, a staple to many worship sets: My Glorious. In this one, we finally see how well Sycamore can share the roles, be different AND be united. From the 3 levels of vocals during the bridge to the final chorus. We also see how a well practiced song will not be messed up too badly, a l’Adwin. Another note-worthy mention would be the decision to change up how the solo would sound. At TC, we had straight distortion with some possible improv happening, but at PT we actually had a though-out, planned-out solo. However, it can always use improvement.

After a short break, Sycamore returns to the stage with You Are Good, where not only is an intro given, but also some comedy – from Lorraine correcting and burning the M/C Rex to exclaiming Adwin has two wrists and even forgetting to introduce herself. Once again, we see the energy exerted from Chris. However, it is perhaps he was too energetic at times that he didn’t have enough air in order to hit the right notes 100%. Sycamore spins things up with another Chris Innovation: implementing the What The World Will Never Take solo into the bridge. Chris truly has a good sense of making things sound good, and if not, better.

One of the biggest blunders from Sycamore though, is the transition between YAG to King of Majesty. I’ll let you see if you can catch it. This was probably one of the songs I needed the most practice on, but didn’t have the time for. My bad. AGAIN, Chris’ energy and enthusiasm brings up the spirits of everyone.

We move on to Marvellous Light, with a fabulous drum solo by Jordan. Chris follows suit after his little statement, which I found funny: “So if you guys want to come to the front,you can, don’t be afraid…just make sure you don’t kick this monitor…” Early on, we hear the unity between the female vocals we were looking for at the beginning of the night. However, there were times when it seemed like Adwin couldn’t decide how he wanted to play in the verses. As usual, Chris’ energy and enthusiasm takes a small toll on his air-intake. This is only a small ding though.

Onwards now, to Center, another Charlie Hall song. Chris’ air-intake seems to regulate for his intro, and once again, we have unity in the vocals. The only minor issue would be the vocals not always ending at the same time (ie. “eyes” “eyes” “eyes” in 3 different times). Also, there is no shame in reading off a music sheet, if it prevents you from singing the wrong lyrics. A milestone though, would FINALLY be the opportunity for Chris to say “Just the church”; we had always joked about it in practices and at TC.

The Message from Pastor Emmanuel starts off with a brief intro from the M/Cs, with some comedy mixed in. However, there is also a very long session of Arthur talking crap…taking around 10minutes of time. We also hear Art’s excuse for trying to snake away from eating Duck Fetus: “Do you want to know the winners, or do you want me to eat the egg?” That is such a rhetorical question! Here is why that one track is around 34.6MB…and that’s why the whole ZIP file is 81.2MB.

After The Message, we move on to the response set, spear-headed by Came to the Rescue. Rather, just the chorus and bridge…taking 4:25. Throughout the whole song, just until 4mins, unity between the two vocals singing is being shot to death. There are also some minor key issues. One note-worthy mention would be the build-up; we didn’t have many successful attempts at building up (crescendo) at TC, so this was a somewhat success.

Moving on to I Give You My Heart, we start off with a very quiet piano intro, which THANKFULLY gets louder. Although Dee’s voice is very strong and good to listen to, the usual key issues due to prolonged vocal use, kicks in. It is also in this song that we first have the A/V play around with the pan. Just keep waiting for more A/V jewels.

The jewels fly everywhere in Always, with the A/V constantly playing with the pan. Why? I have no idea, maybe it’s cool to them. We also have a small snippit of “We Are the Champions”. In the master copy, its NOT a snippit of the bassline, but a full 3-5seconds of singing. Sloppy. Congrats to the vocals for being able to hit the high “Oh God”! No congrats though, to instantly being lost between choruses.

We move on to the final song of the night, Take It All. There is indeed a choppy intro between Adwin, Matt and Jordan. There was also a feeling of being rushed between 28-40secs. Not to worry, throughout the song, there are many blunders by the stringed instruments…which is a first, because Matt’s bassing had been solid throughout the entire night. Surely, this was one of the songs that also needed more practice. The ending is also something that is up for debate: Did Adwin forget the ending chord, or was it simply planned to have a dissonant ending, create a whole mysterious feel, which kind of feels good?

Conclusions:
The entire night was meant as a worship concert. Worship, we did. Concert style, we kind of did. Of course, for every band out there which isn’t professional or considered indie, there are always room for improvements, be it musically, vocally, in terms of unity or organization. Since we last heard and saw Sycamore at TC, we can see that they’ve improved some aspects of their sound and are still in need of improvement of some. However, we can only hope that they continue the Sycamore project throughout university; Matt is the only one staying in highschool (he’s going to grade 11).

In terms of recording quality, you can’t expect too much, as we never used any professional gear to record with…we simply had an MP3 recorder hooked up to the sound board. However, it would have been nice to not have anybody fool around with the pan, and even the Queen’s stunt, despite how short it was. Mistakes happen, don’t let it happen again.

Instrumentals
8.5/10
Jordan is indeed the backbone of the band, and he does a good job. I hope he continues to broaden his musical styles so he can accompany any of Chris’ unique spin-offs. However, we need to be able to hear more of Katy; she may begin to feel left out if there is always electric guitar, bass and drums stomping all over her sound. This can’t be helped if all Sycamore plays are loud, fast songs though. Matt’s brilliant fingers of bass will always bring about fear in other bands, while at the same time, make them feel good. If you haven’t heard him improv, he will make you wish you had met him earlier! I also hope Matt will continue learning music, so his skills will one day dominate the world. We have Chris’ debut as an electric guitar in Take It All, which was short-lived. Chris does a solid job as lead guitar however, and should also continue to strengthen his talent. Perhaps there will be other songs in Sycamore’s repetoire that will reqiure two electrics. In the meantime however, we have to settle for the fluctuations of myself. All I can say is: Adwin needs work. With more organization and practice, everything can sound better and equalized.

Vocals
7.5/10
Sycamore has 3 very strong, very individual voices which can clash more times than unite. However, when they do unite, it sounds beautiful. Sycamore needs to work on vocal unity (as well as team unity) in order to further perfect their sound. There may also be some need to practice breathing so the right keys can be hit. Nonetheless, THANK GOODNESS ADWIN DID NOT SING, OR EACH RECORDING WOULD HAVE HAD A BAD REVIEW. Yes, don’t have me as a regular vocals like at TC. Personally, I think these recordings of the same songs at TC were better, simply because I wasn’t singing (Be My Everything).

Stage presence
5/10
This may actually be due to the fact that everyone was very tired. In fact, it was. Enough said.

Recording quality
3/10

Chris and Jordan’s hotness
10/10
However, we didn’t have anyone (girls or guys) scream their names…we only heard them scream when they were introduced.

Final score for “Sycamore – Live at Project T”
7/10 (not an average)

Download Sycamore – Live at Project T