This album has a lyric sheet; how quaint - I thought they were extinct. Led by singer/songwriter Ryan Skyward, Project Skyward is a dance rock album flush with spacey atmospheres and discordant guitars. File under ambient-pop/shoegaze.

The first thing you notice is how similar Skyward’s vocal is to New Order’s Bernard Sumner – and as the latter has never been much of a vocalist, Skyward puts in a more than decent advertisement should a vacancy ever arise.

What’s certain is that Skyward is influenced by the post-punk electronic rock act; you only need to hear the anthemic Superblaster to realise that – a clear ode to early New Order with its liquid bass line, wailing synths and grungy guitar chords. Ulrich Schnauss can even be found lending his hands with some synth programming on this track and the later Fractured.

Sadly, despite Moved By Opposing Forces credentials, the production is what lets this album down the most – giving it an immediate disadvantage. It almost sounds like everything’s been mixed down, distorted and over-processed to fit in with the grungy, flanged guitars.

The vocals on Lunacy in particular are horrifically processed – rendering the track almost unlistenable. With the guitars cascading in at twice the volume to all the other keyboards and effects it makes for an all together appalling mix.

There are some good tunes here – Sirius The Brightest Sound entices through its endearing ambient synths, while Means Nothing Today carries a lush, tasteful pop patina, but by and large, the impoverished production throughout means that Project Skyward’s strengths are never fully realised. On the contrary, much of what Skyward tries to achieve is degraded.