8mm is the sixth album from Fish On Friday, and is released on CD via Cherry Red on 27 October 2023.
8mm is the bands first studio album since Black Rain (2020). The band line-up on 8mm is Nick Beggs (bass and vocals), Frank van Bogaert (keyboards & vocals), Marty Townsend (guitars) and Marcus Weymaere (drums).
Nick Beggs co-produced 8mm with Frank Van Bogaert.
8mm opens with the title track, a slow paced song with trademark Fish On Friday harmonies. A tale of regret and introspection, driven by a highly emotional arrangement, the synth lines catch you off guard as the pace increases towards the end of the song. The sound of a whirring projector ends the track, to put the listener in the mood of watching an old 8mm cine-film, a recurring motif used throughout the album.
Collateral Damage is a beautiful song. The wide-screen mix, with sparse drums, warm guitars and spikey bass from Beggs, leaves plenty of space for the chorus to hit deep.
Overture to Flame leading in to Flame ups the tempo from the earlier tracks. A rare Fish On Friday cover-version, from the pre-punk band Metro, whose Criminal World was covered by David Bowie on his Let’s Dance album in 1983.
The Chris Squire referencing bassline shakes the speakers, with some almost Welcome To The Pleasuredome intro guitar-lines. Flame is a perfect choice to highlight the progressive / pastoral elements of the band.
Great production touches, such as a subtle trailing reverb on the end of vocal lines, gives the song a feel of the mid to late 70s, which of course is the era that delivered the original song to the world. The guitar lines are delicious and Flame is a track that quickly became one of my early favourites from 8mm.
The intro to Jump This Wall is an intoxicating mix of I Feel Love / Giorgio Moroder meets Pink Floyd. Unlikely bedfellows I know, but it works so well. With Nick Beggs on lead vocals, and references to lockdown and escaping, this is a song that could only have been written during the recent troubled times we have all lived through. Hopefully we are now over that wall.
Don’t Lose Your Spirit showcases the breadth of styles on the album. Classic Rock flavours give this song a unique charm, with all individual band members leaving their mark on the long instrumental section before the vocals kick in.
Funerals lifts the spirits, despite the subject matter, a tale of our changing social habits, with us rarely meeting people at christenings or weddings anymore, as funerals become a more regular part of our social gatherings. Sad but true.
Silently Raging is one of the albums strongest tracks, with quality production touches to the fore. The lyrics touch on our surveillance heavy, highly monitored society, and I love how the rhythm subtly moves up a gear as each verse passes by. The swirling synth lines are underpinned by addictive backing vocals on this perfect pop song.
Instillers is a mix of the synthetic and the acoustic. An iconic Roland CR-78 drum machine underpins the early section, before the whole band arrives. Heart-melting strings, and a warm and powerful bassline from Nick Beggs underscore this album highlight.
I’m always a sucker for Theme From Shaft influenced wah-wah guitar, an effect that makes a brief appearance on Instillers. One of the more progressive pieces on the album, no section of the song overstays its welcome, and repeat listens reveal new a myriad of new charms.
A New Home is a fine ballad, with great bass and guitar interplay, and the album ends on Life is Like the Weather, where wistful harmonies and joint vocals from Beggs and Bogaert offer an emotional conclusion to the album.
The richness of the production, tied in with the storytelling aspects of the lyrics throughout 8mm, reminds me of much missed 70s icons 10cc.
I love how an album that is peppered full of nostalgia, uses triggers such as vintage drum machines and accordions to tug at your heart-strings. These well-placed, and often brief, appearances do not overshadow the well-crafted and passionately performed songs that deliver what many will see as the finest Fish On Friday release to date.
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Buy Fish On Friday – 8MM on CD from Amazon
Tracklist
8mm
Collateral Damage
Overture to Flame
Flame
Jump This Wall
Don’t Lose Your Spirit
Funerals
Silently Raging
Instillers
A New Home
Life is Like the Weather
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 
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