‘Eighty Ninety’ (2023)

It’s only taken seven years, but finally brothers Abner and Harper James have released their very first album as Eighty Ninety! The New York-based duo have served more than a dozen standalone tracks since their 2016 debut, “Three Thirty”, as well as the odd EP, but now they bring together many of those tracks as well as a few new ones that only see the light of day today. The album kicks off with their most recent single, “Ruins” and moves on to “Stay Alive” before launching into the first ‘new’ song, “Next To Me”, a textbook Eighty Ninety track if ever there was. The lightness and aireness of the production just blows from one song to another with Abner’s melting vocals oozing into the next gorgeous song, “The Hard Way“.

Roughly half of this album has already been debuted and “2 Carat” is one of those songs as the boys pick up the pace with something a bit more lively, Summery but not losing the dreamy quality of their work – this album would serve any good film as its soundtrack! “Conspiracy Theorist” is a great never-before heard tune with the usual minimalist production from Harper, but just enough well-judged accompaniment to Abner’s wistful words and insightful feelings. “Gone By The Morning” is a torchsong ode to a love lost and one night spent that could have developed the next morning but inevitably is not possible and doesn’t turn out so. “I’ll Be There” sees Harper take the vocals using his alter ego ‘Middle Youth’ and he is very welcome indeed to this positive anthem. We need more of Harper!

The sublime “Face Like A Sunset“, previously released, breezes in next without apology, one of their best songs of recent times with a real classy and classic sounding soundtrack that squeezes in some 60’s and 70’s sounds to the overall concept. That continues with the final track, “Don’t Know it Yet”, one of their most guitar-heavy tunes yet. This is the quintessential Indie-Pop tune as the boys also veer into Rock terrtory. This will play well live, but sadly this is where it ends. We are treated to ten tracks on this first long player, but what a careful selection of well-crafted songs that should really find favour with any Eighty Ninety fan as well as reach out much further to the music lover that just enjoys good, solid and well-produced ‘rhymes’ that lay easy on the ear and ask no reverence of their being. They just are.