Give Second Shade credit for some killer sequencing. "Politely Wrapped Up" kicks off this three-song demo with a folksy whimper. Next, "Explosions In The Sky," navigates Guster-like soft alternativalia with a decent verse-chorus-verse pop compass.

And then, out of nowhere, a live cut of "Cascade" tumbles off of the back end of the disc like a lost Pearl Jam pearl that could do with some smoothing. Its Byzantine guitar runs chart the levels of a ziggurat in each refrain; buzzing reverb drops like rain; at some point the rhythm section coalesces to deliver lovingly nasty stop-starts in one of maybe three climactic moments. Whether due to recording equipment (the mix is off-kilter) or silly flourishes (a particular garbled scat-roar has got to go), this song isn't operating at full capacity yet. In the right hands, it could be a great folk-prog anthem out of 1994, or something equally bizarre and awesome. Lets pray Second Shade gives it the royal treatment in a pro debut.