Straight Lines

Freaks Like Us

Written by: TL on 29/08/2012 13:41:59

If you like bands that stick to what they're good at, maybe it would be a good idea for you to check out Welsh indie rock quartet Straight Lines. On their debut LP "Persistence In This Game" they took a no nonsense, straight forward approach to songwriting similar to that of Lower Than Atlantis, loaded it with quirky indie riffs, fast beats and the Billy Talent-ish sharp croon of frontman Tom Jenkins and were off to the races. That album came out in early 2010 and now a good two years later, the band has come back with the follow-up "Freaks Like Us", which is only an ever so mild development of the approach taken on the debut.

There are ten songs on offer here, and nine of them essentially follow in a straight line (hurrr) after the biggest single of the first album, the infectious "Say It For Your Sake". The beat is fast, the riffs are bright, the structure is chorus oriented and energy is at a constant high. The only exception is "Bury My Thoughts", which at track nine functions as the single slower variation, just as "All My Friends Have Joined The Army" did on the first album.

The upside is that Straight Lines are excellent at what they do, so them having stuck to it means that the average song here is generally effective, engaging and recognisable. There's a consistency present which means that it does not really matter if you start with the singles "Half Gone", "Commitments" or "Freaks Like Us", or as I would recommend, later numbers like "Ring The Bells", "Empty Chest" or "The Dealer's Hand", because all of them are pretty much potent variations of the same formula. If you like one, you will probably like them all.

The downside is that it practically makes no difference if you listen to "Freaks Like Us" or "Persistence In This Game". I suppose it depends what manner of fan you are if this is a big deal to you or not, but add then the fact that although it is maybe slightly more consistent as an album, none of the songs on "Freaks Like Us" have the individual qualities to compete with the standouts from "Persistence..", namely the mentioned "All My Friends..", "Say It For Your Sake" and "Versus The Allegiance".

So then, if you like things that are highly catchy and energetic, and if you like things to stay that way, then Straight Lines look so far to be the band for you. For me personally, I'm still waiting for them to expand just a little on what they do - or to at least write their best choruses a little more consistently, before I welcome them properly into the big leagues.

Download: Ring The Bells, Empty Chest, The Dealer's Hand
For The Fans Of: Billy Talent, Twin Atlantic, Lower Than Atlantis
Listen: facebook.com/straightlines

Release Date 23.04.2012
Xtra Mile

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.