Song Review: 8X8, ‘The Tie In’

8x8 Azalea's Room

Artist: 8X8
Song: “The Tie In”
Album: Azalea’s Room
Label: Self-Released

Rating: 9/10

The members of 8X8 — Lane Steinberg (The Wind, Tan Sleeve, Cracked Latin) and Ukraine-based multi-instrumentalist Alexander Khodchenko — have never met in person or spoken on the phone, but through the wonders of e-mail and file sharing, they have created a unique and captivating musical force that owes as much to progressive rock as it does The Zombies and Brian Wilson.

Their sprawling debut release, 2011’s The Anatomy of Apricot, was a revelation, and their most recent release, Azalea’s Room, is no less astonishing. The material runs the gamut — from the sultry, should-be wedding standard “Laws of Attraction” to the Who-inspired title track to a cover of the Dylan/Band classic, “Tears of Rage” (featuring a guest appearance by lo-fi legend R. Stevie Moore).

Steinberg says the piano-driven rocker “The Tie In” was added because the band needed an uptempo track to round out the album. In addition, it’s also the album’s most immediately accessible track. The timely tune was inspired by one of Steinberg’s friends “who goes out of his way to avoid the Internet for privacy reasons.” If you should also have any friends who are not currently online, tell them to log on, if for no other reason than to listen to this.

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter