The Lines – Epithet (2024)
The Lines describe themselves as “unapologetically Scottish” and boy are they right. From the opening lines of ‘Epithet’, Scotland sits heavy in the lead singer’s accent, and the lack of Americanization is quite refreshing. The Lines is a quartet of kids playing rock and roll that is neither obsequiously modern nor staunchly old-school. If there’s a low-tech, straight ahead, middle ground somewhere, The Lines have claimed a section of it for themselves.
Their new single, ‘Epithet’, is, in many ways, the perfect characterization of the band. The song is about the type of conversation that young men go through where they discover that they are not the centre of the universe, especially concerning the young lady occupying their thoughts. ‘Epithet’ opens with the young woman telling the young man to quit complaining about whatever it is and get out of her car. Dude quickly realizes that in comparison to an evening without the girl by his side, this one wasn’t so bad after all.
Sung without pretension, the band kicks in with everything a rock band really needs: distorted guitars, bass, and drums. ‘Epithet’ neither wallows in the boy’s mistake nor revels in the girl’s anger but retains a happy-go-lucky energy polished with background vocals that recall a time when such a thing was practically a requirement if you wanted to play rock and roll. It’s nice to hear those tight, falsetto harmonies again.
The Lines have done a great job carving a place for themselves in a territory that has been explored so much there’s hardly anything surprising left to find. The band has not exactly innovated anything, but their other singles like ‘Cheesestrings’ and ‘Heart Soup’ show how willing they are to grab inspiration from a variety of sources if for no other reason than to show that no matter what they bring to the table, that snappy, singable rock sound they’ve built sounds virtually indestructible.
Find out more about The Lines on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
