Five Eight has been around for a long time. They started in 1989 and since then they've kept at it with several releases, a couple of labels, and enough line-up changes to keep things interesting. Hailing from Athens, Georgia the band has released this new full length on Deep Elm Records. The vocals were the first thing that caught my ear. If you mix the voice of Kermit the frog, Ernie (from Bert and Ernie), and the lead singer from the Counting Crows, that is exactly what the lead singer sounds like. The songs show musical talent and many different influences. There's a lot of trumpet (or some type of horn on most songs). The vocals sounded like they were too loud in the mix. They stand out in front of the rest of the music and with the unique/weird voice of Mike Mantione, it's probably not the best idea. I have no problem in calling Five Eight radio rock, as their sound is similar to a lot of so-called modern rock bands. The CD didn't really move me, but if you like the Wallflowers and Counting Crows you might want to pick this up.
C+
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Tom BastianThis band definitely has a dark side to them. The album is suppose to be a concept album, although the concept didn't jump out at me right away. But given time, which I don't always have when reviewing all the CD's we get to review, and a little bit of effort I'm sure the story is rather interesting. I mean after-all the Pedro the Lion concept album didn't jump out at me either until people…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Travis PersaudThis album had so much potential, but fell short. This was my first real listen to Five Eight, and the sound I was expecting rang true throughout this album. Indie rock songs, mixed in with ballads, and driving melodic rock songs, are all present on this one. Musically, I liked what I heard. They built a solid sound to work from, and even had a concept idea to kick. The thing that made me wince…Similar sounding releases
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