With their second album, Over and Over, The 88 refute the myth that art and the three-and-a-half-minute pop song can’t get along. While the new record shares the same rollicking spirit as its predecessor, Kind of Light, it also marks a sonic leap forward for the Los Angeles-based quintet. Once word of The 88’s irrepressible harmonies and hopping pianos – not to mention Slettedahl’s warm, saturated strains – began to spread among club-goers, Light slowly found its way to radio DJs and rock critics. The band became a staple on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, a clearinghouse for rising indie rock outfits, world music composers and underground acts hoping to cross over into the mainstream. Ultimately, 12 of the album’s 13 cuts made the spin list at NPR’s flagship station, opening the floodgates to movie and television offers. Today, the group’s TV resume includes segments on NBC’s Extra and ABC’s The Jimmy Kimmel Show, though it’s arguably their appearance on Fox’s hit series The O.C., whose soundtrack sales have now topped 300,000 copies, that put the troupe on their younger fans’ radar. Then, last year, the live track ‘Coming Home,’ which makes its studio debut on Over and Over, landed a plum spot in the Ben Affleck comedy Surviving Christmas (2004). Meantime, amid all the fanfare, The 88 quietly earned themselves a nod as L.A. Weekly’s Best Pop/Rock outfit in the city.
I had the chance to speak with Keith Slettedahl, singer/guitarist of the band. If you haven’t check The 88 out as of yet, you must not want to have any fun.
