With these secondary bands, the "main" bands tend to overshadow the side projects. Now, however, the secondary bands have their day, thanks to the Mono VS Stereo record label. My Other Band: Volume One features fifteen tracks from the "other" bands of members of Relient K, The Supertones, Demon Hunter, Ace Troubleshooter, Bleach and Audio Adrenaline.
Do the "other" bands deliver quality music? Well, from the start, this disc is clearly about different music. While the artists of the previously mentioned bands bring their own style to these other bands, the music is decidedly different on these side projects. Tracks like Hold Fast, Hold Strong from My Red Hot Nightmare and God's Vast Ocean from Royal Empire Music offer listeners completely different sounds from artists in bands like Demon Hunter and Bleach (Though My Red Hot Nightmare clearly has some influence from the days of The Supertones).
Other artists on the disc stick to a pretty similar style in their music. Tyler Burkum gives listeners three songs from his solo endeavor, which he will have full focus on after Audio Adrenaline officially calls it a career at the end of the year. His tracks sound basically like a softer version of Audio Adrenaline, so fans of his music previously will continue to enjoy him as a solo artist. Agnes, the project from Dave Douglas, Relient K's drummer, offers a similar vibe to Relient K's music, if only a bit more on the rock side of things.
The top offering of this disc, however, is from Relient K's lead singer, Matthew Thiessen. He puts forth his other band, Matthew Thiessen & The Earthquakes, a band that some may know from their appearance on Relient K's Christmas disc, Deck The Halls, Bruise Your Hands (The track I Hate Christmas Parties is a production of the band). Much like the Christmas track, The Earthquakes take a softer, heavily piano-driven approach to their music. And it truly works out well. The Calender, The Energy (If This Is You Then Woe Is Me) is the top track on this disc, and it follows suit with Relient K's music in every aspect except the music (However, this softer side project has managed to put it's fingerprints on Relient K's discs in the past years, specifically in the form of tracks like Let It All Out from Mmhmm). Warmth Of The Sun and a demo of Faking My Own Suicide round out The Earthquakes' offering to this disc, and it is definitely a bright part of the disc.
Overall, My Other Band: Volume One is a rather intriguing production. It offers listeners a look into a different side of members of some pretty solid bands. Whether the music be similar to the "main" projects or completely different, the "other" bands show that they can hold their own with these tracks.