What you say
No-one has reviewed Memory Span by The Lines yet.
What we say
 This record left our Brian feeling ecstatic.
One of the great pleasures of this job is receiving unexpected anthologies of great, long lost bands from the post punk era, such as Glaxo Babies, Artery, Josef K and the like, many of which I never heard at the time. Some are best confined to those decades - like who the fuck wants to hear Theatre of Hate these days? - but there's some that have slipped the conscience of even the most savvy compilers of retro wonderment. Such as The Lines. Now I dunno much about them except they were press shy and one of them has worked with lots of big names since but for me this 4 piece are the missing link between The Only Ones, Television & certainly early NZ bands like The Clean & The Chills. 'Memory Span' is choc full of clean & quirky, minimal & jangly guitar lines, bouncy bass, earthy melodies & sometime dreamy, othertimes jaunty, chatty vocals that render each song addictive and timeless. They've got that crystaline sound that doesn't particularly date and I just KNOW Clint's gonna dig this brilliant compilation of singles and EP tracks. A mention has been made of Mission of Burma & Wire in the press release and I can certainly hear that but I can feel XTC's way with a spiky pop hook and a heartfelt nod to The Kinks for they sound quintessentially English. This band could have been massive with songs this good. The b-sides are as good as the 'a's! They must have fallen through the cracks in the pavement or just not played the game atall for these songs to have remained unreleased on CD for quarter of a century! In turns both spiky, tender, skeletal, funky & moving (they even explore dub textures on later material to great effect) this could be your new favorite old band! Lovin' it....18 great tracks on Acute (none of which have never had a CD issue before). Don't be silly Billies and miss out on this!
What the label says:
Essential early 80s UK Post Punk that has been out of print since the early 80s.
4/5 REVIEW IN MOJO: "MEMORY SPAN IS AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE THAT UNDERLINES THE FERTILITY OF THE WHOLE POST-PUNK PERIOD."
4/5 IN RECORD COLLECTOR: "UK POST-PUNK OUTFIT FINALLY GET THEIR MOMENT."
Acute’s first Lines reissue, "Memory Span," collects all of their singles and EPs, as well as unreleased tracks, representing 5 years in the growth of one of the most interesting bands of the era. Their music evolved from skeletal and taut post-punk scorchers to atmospherically recorded dubbed out bliss.The singles possess an angular and melodic thoughtfulness and precision that bring to mind Wire, Joy Division, the Feelies and Mission of Burma.
Between 1978 and 1983,The Lines released 5 singles, 1 EP and 2 LPs. Over the years, these few records have become rare and expensive collector’s items - never released on CD until now.
Although they played shows with bands like The Cure, Bauhaus and Birthday Party, and featured members of prag Vec and AlternativeTV, they were never part of any scene. They never toured and rarely spoke to the press.
They perfectly encapsulate the best qualities of the era: angst-ridden angularity, danceable catchiness, sublime dub-influenced atmospherics, sonic experimentation and killer hooks, with an unrivalled consistency.
Rico Conning from the Lines went on to work with many well-known groups such as Depeche Mode, Front 242 and Wire
Features a deluxe colour 16 page booklet featuring liner notes with discography info and artwork
Tracklisting: White Night, 2. OnThe Air, 3. Not Through Windows, 4. Dance For A Drop Of Blood, 5. Blisstability, 6. Uneasy Affair, 7. Don’t Need Surgery, 8. 2 Split Seconds, 9. False Alarm 10. Background, 11. Cool Snap, 12. Nerve Pylon, 13. OverThe Brow, 14.Transit, 15. Part II 16. House Of Cracks, 17. OldTown, 18. Barbican |
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