The ongoing saga of Athens, Ga.’s Five Eight isn’t so much a comeback tale as it is a survival story that extends precariously over 36 hit-or-miss years. Theirs is a robust band bio marked by work injuries, psychotic breaks, addiction and other toxic misadventures—but also by great songwriting, killer live shows and scads of potential. It’s more than enough music industry melodrama to fuel the 2024 documentary Weirdo: The Story Of Five Eight.
Earlier this year, we premiered “Take Me To The Skatepark,” the first single from Five Eight’s 10th album, produced by David Barbe (Drive-By Truckers, Sugar) and available via Static Era sometime next year. The latest focus track, “I’m Alone,” seems to intertwine the fickleness of the creative process with frontman Mike Mantione’s mental-health struggles.
“Some songs I agonize over, and some just show up like I’m listening to a radio in my mind,” says Mantione. “With ‘I’m Alone,’ the music and lyrics wrote themselves. For me, songwriting is like going into a cave of bright light and trying to bring that light to the surface from deep down in the darkness. What’s missing from everyday existence is that sense of being OK … alone. We need to be alone. We need time to be with our imaginations, to be with our thoughts, to be with our feelings.”
Another thought from Mantione: “This track is raw, live, imperfect. The band is recorded tight with very little reverb or overdubbing. It’s what I wanted. There’s nothing like seeing a band you’ve never heard of and having them blow you away in a small club with 20 people. You leave with your ears ringing and a sense that someone understood exactly why you were there.”
We’re proud to premiere Five Eight’s “I’m Alone.”
—Hobart Rowland
