The 88: Not Only … But Also

If you’re the type of listener that likes The Fray, The Format or the more recent releases from The Goo Goo Dolls, than you should definitely pick up The 88’s third album, Not Only… But Also. Let me preface with this: The album isn’t anything spectacular, it is simply piano-based alterna-pop-rock that is very kind on the ears. So kind, in fact, that iTunes promoted the opening track “Go Go Go” as the free single of the week last week.
Upon hearing The 88 you may think they sound familiar. While their Wikipedia page boasts of over 20 TV shows and films that their music has been featured in, there are two specific instances that stand out as where you may have heard them before. The first is a cameo appearance as the prom band in an episode of How I Met Your Mother. The second occured when their song “Coming Home,” from their sophomore album, was featured in a repeatedly aired Sears commercial about two years ago. The song must have found some success in these past two years because The 88 chose to rework and re-release the track with new lyrical verses, a slower tempo and more piano jingling on this new record.
“Coming Home” as well as “Go Go Go” and “Sons and Daughters” take the cake as the most notable tracks on Not Only… But Also. So if you dig piano and pop, then it’s definitely worth checking out this LA-based threesome, because as a piano-alterna-pop-group, it’s only a matter of time before The 88 become VH1’s next You Oughta Know artist … so you might as well beat VH1 to it!