Friday, July 30, 2010

Review: 8mm "Love and the Apocalypse" [EP]


Hot on the heels of their sweep of the International Indie Awards and national ads for Nip/Tuck and Yamaha, 8mm announce the release of their much-anticipated EP, "Love And The Apocalypse". The EP features six songs and is available at all major digital outlets. 8mm were founded by producer Sean Beavan (NIN, Marilyn Manson, No Doubt, Envy On The Coast), and his wife, Juliette, who has been described as Jessica Rabbit meets Billie Holiday.

Described as "The glamorous neo-noir love-child of David Lynch, Aimee Mann and Portishead", 8mm has been critically acclaimed and named as one of the Top Bands You Need To Know by Alternative Press and a Buzz Band by the LA Times; they've also been featured on Greys Anatomy, Kings, One Tree Hill, Cold Case, Moonlight, and the Mr. & Mrs. Smith soundtrack.

For those of you who haven't heard 8mm yet, you are missing out on some outstanding adult pop. The songs that grace this EP are mellow and soothing, but never boring. Juliette is a remarkable vocalist, with an angelic voice that floats gently into your ears. Even better, the voice is not wasted on banal pop songs, but is well supported by interesting melodies, contemplative lyrics, and plenty of gorgeous harmonies. We've featured a free download of their brilliant reworking of CCR's "Bad Moon Rising" before (get it here), which introduced you to the vocal talents in 8mm. The "Love and the Apocalypse" EP now proves to us that this duo can write some great original songs as well.

The EP begins with "Los Angeles", a terrific starter that sets the stage with a beautiful piano run to accompany the longing for home in Juliette's voice. The tune also features a great post-chorus guitar part with a rather unorthodox, haunting chord progression - very cool. "Never Go Back Again" is my favorite in the batch, a contemporary piece with a seductive hook in the chorus - a little Tasmin Archer meets Nina Gordon. A final tune I'll highlight is the reflective, laid-back "Life Is Good", which blows over your ears like breezy folk, interspersed with an equally breezy reggae bridge. With bands like 8mm, life is good indeed.

8mm on MySpace. Official site.

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