Matthew Byars is trying something different. The band member of local rockers and former Three Stars act, The Caribbean, has launched his own micro-record label. Pitched as “B-sides only,” the Baltimore-based West Main Development plans to release a series of albums by local artists that highlight all of the tracks unworthy of a typical release. It is intended to be a raw sampling and a more intimate perspective of the music making process. In retrospect this all sounds like a fresh and interesting approach to local music, but can b-sides alone bring a band out from their townhouse recording studio and into the spotlight? We got a hold of The Foreign Press’ first EP release, Cramped Leisure, and discovered that artsy and improv is a nice extra but only after you’ve successfully established your sound.

The Foreign Press has been together for a few years now with a few shows here and there with no actual albums or EPs. According to their MySpace page, the group has actually spent many hours playing in one of the band member’s homes. With all of this time for experimentation, there should be plenty of material to work with in putting together an album. But Cramped Leisure is a mere 6 track EP, each laced together as if it were one big jam session with sporadic spoken vocals.