(4-track EP)
If Black Lines� �Over Gliding Seas� doesn�t get this band signed then I honestly don�t know what will. Their seriously Alternative and excitingly Progressive side angle to producing off-kilter and truly epic rock music is heartening in a time when originality in the rock scene seems pretty much parched, but rest assured with this Sarf London quartet� because the unpredictable thrills the lucky listener as standard.
�Over Gliding Seas,� literally post-contemporary in its astounding sound and a modern-day masterpiece, breathes the same air as Alt-indie-rock band Puressence�s �Gazing Down,� being hallucinogenic and utterly surreal in its presentation as frontman Paul Colto�s vocals whisper and his genius muse wanders, acoustic guitar lushly strumming and a melodic music box undercurrent barely keeping Colto�s vocals from gliding into orbit and never coming back down.
The title track �Happy Place� may not be as ambitious, but the distinctive Black Lines sound is evident as the paranoid guitar and synth-charged shenanigans remind of the beautifully melancholic Winterlong in poignant and affecting scope. Flush with a glint of Evacuate Now�s piano melody played by Paul, Colto is the most fresh and revitalizing spokesman that this generation has got to invest in.
Black Lines are without any doubt pushing multiple musical boundaries and are certainly upping Prog-Rock�s relative stability a notch or ten, especially when their aspirational �Corners of The Globe� is poetry in motion, complete with its dirty rock �n� roll riff, 7-minute running time and Colto�s quality singing voice hitting a different spiritual plane every time he opens his mouth.
Even if his lyric �There are as many of them as there are of you� (in �Corners��) makes about as much sense as bombing Iraq did. Unless the girl that Paul�s addressing - or undressing - is a complete and utter schizoid nutter.
Still, understanding isn�t always key to enjoyment. The more that these guys (with Will Howes on guitarz and FX, Micky Lintott on bass and Nick Rees on drums) confuse and challenge, the better I say. 9/10 (STEVE RUDD)
www.blacklines.co.uk
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Tel: 07786 274349