Labels: Hot Salvation – Rip This Joint
Review by: MH
Mass Lines put out a very promising demo earlier in 2014 and this new release is their first on vinyl. Maybe even their first physical release. This is a six tracker giving them a little more room to breathe and they’re straight out of the blocks with the energetic punch of “Lapsed Catholics”. The vocals on here are great – yelled and strained without anything over the top. Soundwise I’d be mentioning Hot Snakes and Fugazi as influences. It’s kind of garagey punk rock that hints at an appreciation of both those bands. A couple of those demo tracks resurface here too in new forms and still sound fresh particularly the driven “Married Men”. The drive on these tracks is what sets this apart from a lot of other bands for me. There’s an urgency, energy and directness to their sound and that’s what keeps me coming back. Lyrically there is an anger to their social commentary too which adds to the fire. I’d be very keen to see them play these songs live. Well worth keeping an eye out for what Mass Lines get up to next.