Recently, I’ve gotten to talk a lot with another UK musician named Liam, who goes by The Eighth Wonder! In July of this year, he released his newest album, Death To Love, which sounds fantastic. Throughout this review, I’ll share my personal thoughts and feelings about each song!
You can listen to Death To Love here:
REVIEW
Track 1: Regret
I actually feel like the album starts so strong, leading you into the sound of it all with Regret. Lyrically, it also works as a strong introduction, as I feel like the topics throughout the album strive for the same tone and feeling. I actually really like how Liam’s voice works over the heavy instrumentation; it’s quite beautiful.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Track 2: Perfection Is Impossible (But We Can Strive To Get As Close As We Possibly Can)
I love this song so much; the guitar melody is ridiculously catchy, and ever since I first heard the song, it’s been stuck in my head. I think, topically, it works very well. As humans, we are constantly striving to do more and be more, and while it’s bound to never happen, we can keep working towards it. A beautiful idea, and I think it’s well put into this song.
Overall Rating 9/10
Track 3: Give Me A Try
Give Me A Try really took a second to grow on me, but what catches my attention so much about this song is the production and the ending of the song. The entire time, the song is building up to this beautiful ending, with 3 layers of vocals happening at once. At the very end, it’s so distinctive and really makes the song hit me in the feels so much.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Track 4: MAULED
This song stands out to me a lot; it feels like Liam finds his sound in this one, and the song really gets the feeling it wants to show, and it is extremely distinctive. Compared to the rest of the record up to this point, it is a standout track and beautiful in a very unique way.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Track 5: Bus Ride Home
Once again, another standout track. While it’s only acoustic, Liam’s voice is so standout on this song; it just makes the entire song for me. The lyrics come out so clear, and it works so well as an acoustic track, and I feel like being halfway through the album is the perfect time to give the listener a chance to recover for the rest of the record. I would love to hear a produced-out version of this song, though, too.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Track 6: Hold Me
Truly the sound I expect from slow indie rock; the distortion and slow feeling of the sound are so beautiful and fully grounding. I feel enamoured with the song, and every part of it just seems to ingrain me more inside it. Another highlight track for me, for sure; the album only gets better the further you get into it.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Track 7: Maybe In Another Universe, We Are Still Friends
The production on this song is AMAZING. I really, really love how it builds and drops out only to come back in over time. It keeps me interested the entire song; not only that, but lyrically and topically, this song may be a favorite for me. It’s really beautiful and a topic I’m sure most people have thought about. A great way to connect with the listener, but to get your feelings out too. Very beautiful.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Track 8: Before I Go
I do lose a bit of the momentum that’s been building up in the album so far with this track. However, I love the track and its production as well; it just feels slightly out of place towards the end. I don’t really have much to say other than that; it was a great song, though!
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Track 9: Death To Love
The title track of the album, and it really comes across. It feels like everything across the entire album has built into this song; it just embodies the feeling of the album, and it features some of the strongest production from any of the songs on the album. It’s a gleaming work of a song, and I love it so much for what it is.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Track 10: Subject 105
Such a strong ending to the album; the synth work is glorious and just beautiful and makes the song stick out in such a beautiful way from every other track. Then the drums come in and really make the song for me. Production, lyrically, topically, everything on this song is just a beautiful work of art, and really makes the album for me. It is definitely my favorite track from the entire album.
Overall Rating: 10/10
CONCLUSIONS
This album really feels like Liam is finding his sound and getting extremely comfortable with himself and who he is in his music. It’s so cool to see a musician find themself in their craft, and to continue to work to make it even better.
I would personally say, for me, the album is around an 85-90; it’s a great work of art, and it gives me this feeling that I just love throughout it. It feels like a very personal work of art, and it connects with me a lot as a listener and friend.
My review of this album truly shouldn’t change your opinion, and I would recommend you give it a listen yourself. If you do listen, I hope you enjoy it!
Also check out his website here: The Eighth Wonder
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