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Eight Beat Measure

Rochester Institute of Technology

Panic Station - Single (2013)

5.0

Review By Catherine Lewis

September 25, 2013

Ordering Information

Listen and download for free on Soundcloud, or purchase the track on Loudr or iTunes.


Catherine Lewis

As singles go, Panic Station by RIT's Eight Beat Measure has everything a listener could want: a high-energy song, a textured arrangement, a killer lead, and a fun little mash-up (a seamless transition into Queen's Another One Bites the Dust, thanks to the bass line of the song).

There's so much that's interesting about this arrangement (and the group's delivery): the backs' echoes of the soloist, the little pops of instrumental color in between lead lines, and the guitar solo which buzzes like a bumblebee and sounds so much cooler than the typical "voices trying to sound like a lead guitar" sound. It's a solid arrangement and an even more solid performance. My only criticism is needing just a little bit more diversity of dynamics; the song doesn't absolutely require it, but it might've added just a little more drama to have a few well-placed crescendos (they almost get there with the first "ooh, 1-2-3-4 fire's in your eyes").

Eight Beat Measure seems to be on fire lately, with a strong album review for Heatin' Up and a strong single review for Scream earlier this year. Eight Beat Measure has been nominated for several awards, and Panic Station is included on the Voices Only 2013 compilation. This is a group that has not traditionally been included in the upper echelon of collegiate a cappella, but they definitely should no longer be flying low under the radar. Panic Station is a solid, well-performed single — and it's definitely well worth hearing.


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