The second solo outing from Sundowner, the side project from Chris McCaughan of Chicago punk outfit The Lawrence Arms, suffers from SPS — Side Project Syndrome™ — which is to say the material just isn’t as compelling, nor the sound of the band as well defined as material from his primary group. Sundowner’s first outing, 2007’s “Four One Five Two,” didn’t sound a whole lot different, but the songs were stronger and the arrangements were more dense, which gave the record some cohesion. But “Waves” comes crashing down. The album’s sparser arrangements don’t hold things together, and many of the songs sound like demos for Lawrence Arms songs — and would probably be better like that since far less nuance is required. In fact, just try to hear “Jewel of the Midwest” without hearing it as a punk rock song going going full bore, guitars blaring and double-time snare pounding. McCaughan does write nice lyrics, however, and as the title alludes, many of the songs reference the sea. This provides a few sunken treasures here, but for the most part, “We Chase the Waves” just sort of washes up on shore.

Sundowner – “Whales and Sharks”

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