The Essex Chronicle describes Six Months On as "The Mid Essex area's finest purveyors of Mucker Rock". Now, I'm not a hundred percent certain what "mucker rock" is, but I'd say the rest of the statement is pretty accurate. In my time, I've seen and heard many bands trying to pull off the mature/sensitive rock thing, but they usually come off sounding like one-song Travis tribute bands. With opener "Smile", Six Months On combine heartfelt vocals and an intelligent, poignant melody, and come across almost Radiohead-esque, but without the whining.

"I Know This" is an upbeat tune, more toe-tapping than lighter-waving. It's necessarily less beautiful than "Smile", and less touching, but that's not to its detriment. It's a good-time rock song; no more, no less. It sounds almost effortless, whilst simultaneously demonstrating a songwriting talent most younger bands would kill for. With experience comes maturity, but often a loss of hunger. Six Months On are still hungry.

Finally, a live recording of "Jump Or Change", a song about suicide which manages to be catchy and lively without ever being insensitive or callous. This is what I like, a bit of positivity. Makes a welcome change from all the moaning we're force-fed by MTV2. It demonstrates two aspects of the band's appeal: firstly, the ability to look on the bright side; and secondly, their talent as live performers. Sound quality aside (and even that's not too bad), this sounds almost like it was recorded in a studio, which is impressive when compared to the aforementioned one-song Travis tributes.

While they're unlikely to attract image-hungry crowds, Six Months On seem well worth checking out live, if they come near your neck of the woods. In the meantime, get yourself down to www.sixmonthson.com and grab a copy of the demo. Alternatively, there are mp3s at Peoplesound.