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In Sides is so named because of the track lengths, which forced the record company to release it on vinyl as three 12" singles, thus placing one track per side on each of the longer tracks. There are in fact 8 tracks on the album, ranging from the 6:20 P.E.T.R.O.L. to the 24 minute Out There Somewhere. The awesome The Box is split into two parts, each over 6 minutes long, but flowing together beautifully in the CD release.
In Sides is a huge rush of energy to listen to, as wave upon wave of sounds crash over the listener, building up and then smashing down each track in turn. The Hartnoll brothers show a complete command of how to build a track, and never more so than in The Box, which starts off slow and basic adding and subtracting elements as the basic sound is built. And this is how it continues for the first six minutes and 28 seconds that make up "Part One", before picking up its heels into "Part Two", and roaring along for the final six minutes. It's a landmark soundsculpture, and a signal lesson in how to sculpt a track from simple elements.
After this, things settle down a bit for the Welsh-named Dwr Budr (with a circumflex on the 'w'), but it still manages to portray the same crucial elements that have made the first half so good. Adnan's seems rather introspective, and sounds almost like it's taken some inspiration from Depeche Mode in their Violator phase.
In Sides is definitely a modern classic. It has all the ingredients of great instrumental work, and in spite of the fact that some of the tracks are perhaps not to my personal taste, it is clearly a great work, that was hugely well-received at its release time. It's at once calming and uplifting, with the power to make the listener take stock and then move forward. None more so than The Box, which has played a great part in lifting depression for me in the past: part one exacerbates the problem, but part two brings me out. Highly recommended.
9/10
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