Thoughts on 8th days new album?
In short, if you like 8th Day, you'll like this album.
In a few more words: as has been the case with every album, the music and production quality on Inner Flame is much improved over its predecessor. This time, it seems someone gave Bentzi a string section as a gift, and he uses it often throughout the album to great effect. His guitar solos are crisp, and the "electronic" music is not overused and done tastefully.
One early favorite is Utzu Eitza, "When time can't heal that wound that feels like you can't take much more, keep the calm beneath, let your smile speak, 'cause I know this for sure - chitter chatter, doesn't matter, no denying, they keep trying but Heaven's helped so far ... utzu eitza v'sufar, I've heard them talking like this before..." set to a groovy beat and arranged beautifully, even if it could do without that Middle Eastern twist it gets.
Akivah is a stunning melody - almost haunting, and yet another terrific job lyrically. The arrangement is simple and beautiful, with the aforementioned strings giving it an emotional feel that really pulls you in. Tears is another song I could say the same thing for, though the arrangement gets a more electronic, "rock ballad" treatment. "And your cries were not in vain, small tears they link into a golden chain, pulling down the walls that divide us - al eile ani bochiya, Sara Rivkah Rochel v'Leah... Now their tears are in your eyes."
One of 8th Day's strengths is using creative wordplay and fun music to bring Chassidic messages to life. Off the top of my head, CDSG, All You Got, Little Johnny, Never Afraid and Tatenyu are such masterpieces. Just Like You is this album's rendition of a Chassidic tale turned "pop with a message," but it isn't of the same quality as the others mentioned.
Celebrate is the classic fun, rock 8th Day song you've become accustomed to, while Days R Coming is a cutsy, funk song, "Good luck trying to catch a cold when disease is on the run." I do like the horn arrangement, and I'm not sure if the "yeah yeah" harmony bit was put in purposefully as a call back to their older stuff, or just happens to sound exactly the same. Whisper has the same message as Days R Coming and is quite forgettable.
Champions is a fun, anthemic track repeating another oft used 8th Day theme - the value of each individual (child?) and G-d's love for each and everyone. I loved Rain the first time round, and Rain 2.0 doesn't stray too far from the original. At the beginning of the second verse, it gets slowed down to the point that lyrics don't match the tune, and it sounds off beat and awful.
Jerusalem Stone is weak, both musically and lyrically, but the true disaster on this album is Inner Flame. I don't like that song at all.
I'm an unabashed 8th Day fan, and gobble up every note they put out. Though it seems 8th Day puts out an album every ...8th Day (sorry), and it might serve them well to wait a little and be more selective with their song choices and put out albums with less frequency.
/rambling. (Though, you did ask for some thoughts!)