Review competition: Persistence in this game by Straight Lines
Our thanks, as well as an Amazon voucher worth £50, goes to Michelle Moore, December's winner of our monthly CD review competition, for her enticing extract about the debut album from Straight Lines entitled 'Persistence in this Game'. Straight Lines emerged as a band just over a year ago when duo Tom Jenkins (vocalist) and Dane Campbell (Drummer) began writing together. They approached Todd who agreed to play Bass and provided a garage which was converted to a recording studio. The foursome was completed when Tom Pugh joined the group on guitar.
The boys have had to beg and borrow instruments and equipment from other band friends. Their debut single, 'Runaway Now', was played on Kerrang Radio and Radio One and led to studio performances in the BBC Maida Vale Studios. The single 'Loose change' was released with an accompanying video that sees the boys performing the song on the beach whilst being sluiced with water and paintballs. The song is pacey and exciting, and the video is highly amusing, doing justice to the song - let's hope they had purchased their own equipment when they filmed or they may have justifiably lost a few mates!!
The album 'Persistence is the Game' produced by Xtra Mile Recordings was well received during a recent UK tour which took the band from Cornwall to Inverness. Kerrang described their performance as follows:
"Straight Lines up the pace with a highly charged set of pure adrenaline that's bolstered by their confident, enthusiastic stage performance. As a result, their already high-octane brand of poppy, punky, catchy rock is blistered with extra energy and aggression, turning this into a very special performance indeed." - 5/5 Kerrang!
For a debut album 'Persistence in this Game' is highly accomplished and suggestive of a big, bright future for the young men from Pontypridd. Straight Lines are currently recording their second album, have recently toured the UK, and are due to play at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham on January 30th. Tickets are still available and it looks set to be a great night.
Michelle Moore the winner of the December CD review competition has written an excellent piece emerging as the clear winner by evoking an immediate desire to play the sample tracks and purchase of the CD - available today from £7.43 using our price comparison service.
Don't forget to keep your reviews coming as unique entries will be eligible for our review competition. See our competition page for more information on our monthly competition.
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Michelles Moore's Review
'Persistence In This Game' is the debut album offering from Straight Lines and consists of the type of music that will put a smile on your face and a beat in your step. After listening to these twelve tracks you instantly want more. They are upbeat examples of the dynamic tunes that these four can create.. while recording in a garage!
Each of the tracks is vocally driven and this is the most notable and intriguing aspect of the songs. Vocals are energetically and emotionally passionate. What makes them so different and stand out are the fact they sound unperfected and incredibly natural, like Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer or Alex Band - unique and one of a kind. There is no falseness about the voice of vocalist Tom Jenkins. When backed up by Dane and Todd Campbell, the harmonies are united and make you want to catch the guys live. When it comes to writing, these guys put pen to paper to create an anthemic tune with real talent. No one song can be classified as of a high quality as each has the ability to be remembered for its catchy and united choruses as well as at times fast moving lyrics.
Each of the twelve songs is similar in style with upbeat and punchy guitar melodies from James Pugh, but how each is used is completely different when surrounded with the vocals. At times subtle at other times crashing out with riffs. 'The Ballad of Peter Devine' is an emotionally and vocally driven song that is enough to make your heart sink. It is slower than the other songs but is much more impressive in sound with slower melodies yet a larger atmospheric sound. The chorus is especially breathtaking as the backing vocals sing in the distance with the dominant Jenkins voice powering the song.
With the snow continuing to fall, this debut is the perfect stay in and listen to record.
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