Five Eight's "Songs For Saint Jude", gatefold double LP with download card.

Available on

• 140g black
• Color vinyl
• 180g black

 'Athens, Georgia legends Five Eight are readying to drop their eighth studio album, Songs for St. Jude (Chicken Ranch Records). Produced by Mike Albanese, the 17-song double album illustrates just how relevant the band remains some 25 years after their debut. Don't believe it? Just listen. Go ahead and YouTube some live Five Eight vids from the early- to mid-90s to realize that the band - especially leader Mike Mantione - has lost nothing from its energy stores. If anything, the band is more of a force today. St. Jude is a master class in passionate and literate rock and roll, with Mantione emoting his ass off (as usual). There is an unexpected maturation with this new release, which isn't to say that the new tunes are more sober and evolved than previous releases (Mantione has tackled personal issues in the past). Maybe the band with the punk aesthetic has expanded on their sound. The songs run the gamut from slow burners ("Smoke," "Sherman Oaks Fire") to their familiar triple espresso sounds ("Werner Herzog," "Someday"). In between are pure gems, songs that will become etched in your memory for some time.' - No Earplugs Blog