I was sent a very interesting album to review for The Music Magazine. 'The Lines' are (or were) a post-punk guitar band from London in the last seventies and early eighties. They released a few singles and EPs and only two albums as their sound developed from punchy punk to goth-dub. It is a strange and compelling transition. I really like the whole of the Cold Snap! EP which captures the band at their early best but later songs like 'Part II' and 'House Of Cracks' are just as good.Anyway, here it is...
"Follow you, follow me. Build a library, make history, solve a mystery", sings Rico Conning on 'Don't Need Surgery'. It is prophetic song writing as 'The Lines' are a real mystery. One of these bands with a cult following and fans desperately hoping that no one else discovers their big secret. 'Memory Span' is a huge compilation of everything 'The Lines' released plus a few unreleased demos. The album shows the development of the band through several line-up changes and an evolving sound from 1978 to 1983. At times they have an incredible dynamic - the fusion of Forty's bass and a myriad of guitar sounds from Conning, later joined by Linehan, and Cash's seemingly random drumming. Singer Conning occasionally sounds like Peter Perritt ('The Only Ones') which is no bad thing.
The highlights of the first part of the compilation are the disjointed guitars and sultry vocals of first single 'White Night' and the driving bass and drums of 'Not Through Windows'. The playful vocals of the 'Blisstability' demo concluding with Conning asking "Where's my Aspirin? Where's it happening?" is the best unreleased track.
The 'Cool Snap! EP' forms the middle of 'Memory Span' and is home to the best songs. 'Don't Need Surgery' is the first sign of real song writing ability. Wonderful guitars and vocals very reminiscent of early R.E.M. '2 Split Seconds' has the same intertwine of guitars with added drums, as is the more upbeat gothic-punk of 'False Alarm'. 'Background' is a poetic bass driven ramble about alienation and change: "It's a new situation in a given space. All the old preparations for a different race", topped with a jangly ending. 'Cool Snap' could be an early 'Cure' instrumental with spurious percussion and a great guitar melody. The trombone mid section and outro is a bit mad but the whole thing works brilliantly. The EP captures the changing times of the summer of 1980 and a changing band.
Moving further into the 1980s, the single 'Nerve Pylon' is the first sign of a new sound with added electronic production and has Conning trying, with limited success, Ian Brown style 'big vocals'. Likewise 'Over The Brow' is an interesting song, less punchy punk and more dub influenced with brass and huge expansive vocals. 'Transit' continues the same approach and at nearly six minutes 'Part II' is a sprawling trippy semi-instrumental. Conning's vocals add to the haze like Ian Curtis on a bad day.
Instead of sounding like a band in decline, the gargantuan 'House Of Cracks' tries to capture the earlier sound. Conning's lyrics would suggest otherwise: "I say listen to the wailing. This train is derailing. Oh my, the brakes are failing..." before screaming incoherently. The song finally settles down after an explosive opening and a protracted sample of rainfall. It is a beguiling mix. Conning is particularly dour: "What shall we do with the drunken sailor? Slap him around and tell him he's a failure", echoed by the desperate horror-movie ending. Conversely 'Old Town' is a spacious collection of noises and shouting set to a bass line - less of a song and more an idea.
'Barbican' takes the band full circle and it is early guitarist Phillips who takes centre stage. Strangely it is the album closer instead of being coupled with 'White Night', reminding us of where the band started.
Why 'The Lines' did not find the same commercial success as their contemporaries is the big mystery. It is claimed that the band never went on tour or did interviews; a very different musical world back in the early 80s without the glare of the media spotlight, thousands of television and radio channels and the internet. Although 'Memory Span' is definitely music of its time, it works today as a complete history of an evolving band who deserved more than cult status. In the current climate of trying to sound retro yet different, many of the songs would be comfortable along side the likes of 'The Pigeon Detectives' and 'Massive Attack'. After twenty five years, the secret is finally out.
8/10
-- CS (for The Music Magazine July 2008)
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