5th Projekt

Toronto band 5th Projekt don’t seem to have a spellchecker on their computer. It is clear from their "cleverly” misspelled song titles ("DISTRAKTid” and "3IGHT WORD5”) that they must be either way too clever for their own good or they have a good sense of humour about what they do. It would be nice to think that it is the latter, but their overblown, earnest music makes it apparent that they aren’t joking. CiRCADiAN, in all its uppercase/lowercase glory, is a concept album that deals with cycles, both internal and external, and the search for balance in the universe. Set to music. And, on reflection, it isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds, although that might not be much of a compliment. The quieter songs lack the personality to make them stand out, and the louder moments have that same darkness-lite that makes it possible for Evanescence to reach such a wide audience. Or to put it another way, 5th Projekt just aren’t as interesting as they think they are. The music isn’t really unpleasant, but it isn’t particularly memorable either and that’s the main problem — eight minutes can feel like a really, really long time when there’s not a whole lot to keep your attention.