This 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 started to explain it, and David Bazan told his side of the story in various interviews. Put enough about Pedro the Lion, let's talk Five Eight.
Probably the most interesting thing about this release is the bands uniqueness. After all, how many bands do you know that integrate a fluegelhorn, bugle, euphonium, violin and accordion along with your typical rock instruments and pull it off? Well Five Eight does. Sure the album seemed to lose my interest half-way through, but that's probably due to the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of this particular style of indie rock. Plus overall it tended to be a bit long even for a full length. But I have to give them credit, what they pull off on this album is a quality release with good song structure, a great recording, and definitely thoughtful lyrics. Although they don't sound all that much like Damien Jurado, if you like his storybook/personal lyrics you would probably at least find the lyrics on this release a bit interesting. I also have a feeling that those of you who are really into Built to Spill and Modest Mouse will find favor in Five Eight.
B-
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Nate BaileyFive 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…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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