The Lines - Flood Bank
Despite my being very much “of an age”, The Lines, an early 1980s London post-punk band, more or less totally passed me by first time round. Now being reissued by Acute, this is a 16-track album compiled to include both of their full-length LPs: ‘Therapy’ and ‘Ultramarine’.
Right from the first listen-through, it is apparent that this is very much an album (or collection of songs) from and of its time. The production sound, the alternating jerk (as found in ‘Stripe’ and ‘Instincticide’) and jangle (see ‘Have a Heart’) of the guitars, and the at times epic feel all say “late 70s, early 80s independent band” loud and clear.
Many of the tracks use an unsettling dissonance: either introduced in the vocals, like the “ah ah ah”s in ’Airlift’, or instrumentally, as in ‘Bucket Brigade’, and the clashing brass in ‘The Gate’, which contributes to an overall sense of doom, unease and fear. This is found most markedly in ‘Come Home’, ‘Stripe’, ‘The Landing’ and ‘The Gate’ (which, with its unearthly background groans and moans would make an ideal soundtrack to a horror film), but it is an atmosphere that pervades the whole album, to the extent that the more conventional and straightforward tracks, which come in the album’s second half (‘Have a Heart’, ‘Flood Bank’ and ‘Ultramarine’) can sound a little prosaic and disappointing in comparison. Four tracks (ie a quarter of the whole album) are instrumental (‘Instincticide’, ‘Ursa Major’, ‘The Gate’ and ‘Disenchanted’) reflecting the lack of weight given to lyrical content: this is a band that succeed in conveying meaning using arrangements, production and instrumentation used rather than just words.
Another key feature is use of a heavy funk-infused bass line. These tracks may be creepy, but they are often also strangely danceable. ‘Stripe’, the overlong ‘Airlift’, the ear-wormy ‘Bucket Brigade’ and most particularly ‘Tunnel Party’ fit into this category, the latter being a manic, clattery yet fun party song, once again featuring a bizarre range of background “yelps” that could be joyful or anguished exclamations. As I said: unsettling.
To summarise, then, this is an album worth getting hold of if you like dark, danceable, ‘80s post-punk with a funky edge and a few unexpected twists. I certainly found it a gritty and interesting listen, despite my failure to register the band on their first tour of duty.