It’s always refreshing to come across a band that’s upfront about its influences. Dublin’s 8Ball combine such a bewildering array of styles as to almost defy categorisation. But if you had to pin them down you’d probably trump for something like jazzy, indie, folk, trancey electronica. For their second album, they’ve recruited producer Ian Caple (Spiritualized, Manics, Tindersticks etc) and the results are more than impressive.
In fact, it’s the diversity of sounds that makes With All Your Friends so compelling. ‘Dig It’ recalls 1980s Liverpool synth-popsters China Crisis (especially their huge hit ‘Wishful Thinking’). ‘Trust Me’ has a lush, mid-tempo groove with a lovely loping bass pattern, crisp drums, guitars that sound like Television’s ‘Marquee Moon’ and a vocal melody that calls to mind Steely Dan circa-Katy Lied. Meanwhile, the chugging, ‘21st Century Man’ is New Order-meets-The Jesus and Mary Chain, while ‘Handfuls’ blends pastoral folk with a spacey atmosphere.
The quality control is maintained right to the end. In fact, final track ‘Thinking of You’ is the out-and-out highlight. A gem of a song, it’s steeped in ‘60s psychedelia with acoustic guitar and echo-laden vocals. In fact, it wouldn’t sound out of place on the Beach Boys Surf’s Up.