The poppy twang in the first song of The 88’s “Not Only … But Also” pretty much sums up the band’s sound.
“Go Go Go” lasts three minutes and goes by quickly. Although everything in the song is pretty ordinary in terms of instrumentation, vocalist Keith Slettedahl is a talented singer and is capable of hooking you into the album with the song.
The album drops off dramatically with “Love You Anytime.” This song is much slower than “Go Go Go” and loses my interest.
“I’m Nothing” kicks the album speed back up. Unfortunately, though, it sounds almost identical to “Go Go Go.”
“Sons And Daughters” and “Like You Do” are pleasantly different from the rest of the album and garner my top rankings on the album. “Like You Do” adds a nice, funky, ’70s feel with a unique, rocky chorus. The song switches up the tempo into a fun, happy rock song and is one of few songs, if not the only song, to add pleasant drum fills.
It’s sad to realize that in today’s world much of music has lost its meaning and bands are creating generic pop music just to get on the air.
Slettedahl and the rest of the members of The 88 do their best to set themselves apart from other bands, but sadly, only a few songs succeed.
Many of the guitar riffs sound the same. The bass is unrecognizable. Drum fills and crescendos are basic at best. To me, the most important parts of music are the drum and bass and how they define the song. They fail to do that in nine of the eleven songs.
The best bands, besides long-tenured major label staples, are those found on some indie labels and independent local bands, who fight for their music to be heard. “Not Only … But Also” just doesn’t fight hard enough.