Search - Five Eight :: Five Eight

One moment relentless, another stark and beautiful, the 12-song recording, which was mixed by the masterful John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, The Breeders, Jay Farrar) and produced by Five Eight and Geoff Melkonian (of the Josh Joplin Group), is an engaging yet volcanic amalgam of manic infused melodic rock that flows and explodes from song to song as the band delves into the darker depths of life, death, regrets and relationships. Throughout, Five Eight takes on desperation and gives it hope through soul and song, something (drummer) Mike Rizzi describes as "personal and heartbreaking, for the most part, but for some reason I want to sing them loud". Indeed, never before has it been so enjoyable to listen and sing along to someone else?s pain. On tracks such as "I?m Still Around," "I Don?t Give a Damn" and "Lousy Decision," Five Eight matches defiance and disappointment with deft melodies that harken back to the definitive Athens sound, standing firmly on the great side of pop music. "A Man Is A Pent Up Thing" and "Square Peg," on the other hand, hit with insistent punk rhythms that pace angular guitar textures while "Bad Juices" and "Bad For Us" take a more melancholy approach, yet strike with intensity through impassioned deliveries, smart harmonies and escalating conclusions. And perhaps the album?s opener, "Criminal," sums up best the journey taken on Five Eight. Tackling a person?s paralyzing guilt for causing the death of a friend, "Criminal" charges ahead with a propulsive punk rhythmic vibe, and then twists and turns through evocative pop territory as it allures with distinctive countermelodies and builds to a climactic end, with (singer) Mike Mantione declaring, "I?m so gone." But just as the next song begins, he affirms, "I?m still around." It?s a segue that provides a glimpse to an underlying theme throughout the album, a question Mantione poses as: "What if your world changes so drastically that the pain overwhelms you? What do you do?" Mantione?s answer: "I play in this band."