With an opening line of "Here Comes The Thunder", Marcello Malcoun Catalano's voice sets up the playing field rather nicely. 8-is are a band built around the nucleus of Marcello on vocals, Lorenzo Milone on guitar and Franco Casini on drums. Bass and keyboards are taken care of by Andrea Casali and Emanuele Casali respectively. The name of the band is a play on their 80s sound.

'Frame Of Us' sounds fantastic with a very 80s, but modern, production. The songs are very typical of their genre (damn, I hate that word...) but in this case it's true. They sound like they could have come off a Best Of 80s Driving Rock Anthems - hell, slap a Top Gear logo on the album and watch it fly off the shelves! Yes, it's that good (and cheesy).

With titles (and lyrics to match) such as 'I'll Be There', 'Fallin' In Your Eyes' and 'Tomorrow Comes Tonite' you know exactly what to expect. And that's my problem with it - it sounds too safe... but with the tones from Marcello being almost up there with Dan Huff (Giant) and Jimi Jamison, this album is a great start. Let's just hope it's the start of a band and not just a possible studio project.

www.myspace.com/8is