Straight Lines - Persistence In This Game Album Review

You could say Straight Lines are a Rock band version of Cinderella, scrimping, saving, begging, stealing and borrowing, but they end up going to their own version of the ball. What started out with just Tom Jenkins and Dane Campbell writing songs together, carried on through and has ended up as a four piece with Todd Campbell and final band member James Pugh.

So what is it about Wales? Sorry scrap that, what is it about South Wales? It seems that the southern part of this Country are producing some fine and some not so fine bands like Stereophonics, Lost Prophets, Funeral For A Friend and Kids In Glass Houses and now Straight Lines (You decide which bands fall into each category).

Straight Lines are set to release their new album 'Persistence In This Game' and they say that first impressions are the most important. Well as soon as 'Versus The Allegiance' begins you're hit with Pop Punk (who thinks of these bloody names) The sound that sees Greenday morphed into The Wombats. It seems the band are a Pop band but the inner sole is one of Punk/rock desperately trying to escape, but the pop manages to hold the other two down.

There is no doubt that Straight Lines know their way around their instruments and vocally you can't fault it, but the majority of the album does seem like it's filled with tribute songs. Sadly 'Loose Change' is cringe worthy with the whole band singing together; it all seems a bit surreal.

Straight Lines need to try and find their own sound, pick themselves back up and get back in the studio and start again. There could be something to this band in the future but at the moment they might be better off being a tribute band.

4/10

Mark Moore