|
I'm always amazed when a band as long-running (the band formed in
Athens, Georgie in the late eighties) and talented as Five Eight
escapes my attention. Your God Is Dead To Me Now is the band's
seventh release since 1992. Seven CDs - how on Earth did I miss music
this good?
Your God Is Dead To Me Now is guitar-driven indie-rock in
a style that never goes out of fashion. Five Eight's sound is a cross-breed
of influences both old and new. Their Birdbrain-era Buffalo
Tom and Camper Van Beethoven influences fit nicely next
to lyrics and vocal deliveries reminiscent of The Hold Steady
and The Drive-By Truckers.
Back in the late eighties and early nineties I grew up on college
radio in Boston. My less musically inclined friends would ask me,
"What is College Rock?" I always struggled for an answer.
I wish someone would ask me today. Five Eight embody everything
that those two words evoke; driving guitar work and well thought
out lyrics delivered cathartically with all their ragged edges on
display to the world.
With Your God Is Dead To Me Now's 14 tracks, Five Eight manage
what is nearly impossible to pull off - nearly 50 minutes of music
without one track of filler. With that said, if you are of the ADD
generation and only have four minutes or so to be convinced of the
greatness of this record, check out track four, "The Ballad Of
Frankie Jr." Not only is this the stand-out track on the album,
it encapsulates Five Eight's entire sound in a neat four minute and
29 second package.
-George Dow
Check out more
reviews
 Talk
Back
e-mail the
chief
Like this article?
e-mail it to
a friend!
|
Five
Eight 
