Wollongong melodic punks Lost In Line pump out 12 songs that will have you bouncing off the walls like it’s 1995 all over again! Melodic skate punk for fans of that Fat Wreck sound.
Press:
500 x CDs
REVIEWS:
Lots Wife – Monash University Magazine
LOST IN LINE – Smiles That Scream
Straight out of Wollongong, “Lost In Line” are a relic from a time gone by. While sounding like something that would have been found blazing in skateparks 10 years ago, their debut album “Smiles That Scream” should appeal to a bigger audience than just the nostalgic; its succinct instrumentation, coupled with well thought out lyrics and vocal arrangements, should be able to win over many who were never around to hear this genre the first time around.
While Lost In Line take cues from bands like No Use For A Name, Millencolin and Lagwagon, they are by no means simply recycling riffs. “Smiles That Scream” manages to take a familiar sounding style and make it sound completely current and undated. In that regard it gets a big thumbs up from me, as there is only so many times that someone can listen to “Leche Con Carne” and still find something new about it (while a classic, it has been 14 years since its release).
Something that is immediately noticeable about “Lost In Line” is their extensive usage of the three part punk harmony, a technique which newer bands appear to have forgotten and relegated to antiquity. It is quite impressive for a band which plays a style with a reputation for turning out technically pathetic singers to manage not just one, but three highly competent vocalists. Instrumentally “Lost In Line” are also quite capable, with extremely tight 4/4 drums and hammering power chord riffs leading the charge. This is then complemented quite nicely with a number of songs featuring pseudo-metal harmonic lead guitar lines and solos, beefing up their sound considerably. This is particularly apparent on the tracks “Restored” and “Break The Cycle”, coincidently also the best on the CD.
The lyrics on “Smiles That Scream” are well thought out, with topics ranging from relationships and girls to social critique. “Break The Cycle” in particular stands out to me, a rallying call against the suspect intentions of governments who do not listen to their citizens. As far as I am concerned, comparing the current state of national affairs to “a swastika revival” is as poetic as anybody ever truly needs to be; the images that such lyrics conjure are extremely powerful without delving into “artistic wanker” territory.
“Lost In Line” will be touring soon as a support act for American band “Mest”, and from the strength of “Smiles That Scream”, I might just be tempted to buy a ticket. As long as I can leave before “Mest” play.
Review by: Matthew Woodward
Coffeemug Zine #8 [Philippines]
LOST IN LINE – Smiles That Scream
Every track on the cd is catchy and very enjoyable. Among my favorites are “The Balance”, “Restored”, “Smiles That Scream” and “The Brightness”. Actually their music is being compared to No Use For A Name and Bodyjar. Yeah! Lost In Line sounds like those bands and I love it! These Australian based lads will give you a solid melodic So-Cal style skate-punk music. Another enthusiastic punk rock outfit from Pee Records. I recommend this record for punk rock lovers.
Die Shellsuit, Die! [UK]
LOST IN LINE – Smiles That Scream
It seems that these Australians skate-punks have both the best and worst timing in the world. As a summer release, this should bring back memories of finishing school, festivals, BBQs, underage drinking… You know, all the good stuff. Unfortunately, it’s a 2008 summer release, so it’s not exactly in vogue. Even if this was 1998, all the Fat Wreck and Epitaph bands that these guys take their cue from were already on the way out, so the chances of people taking notice today are fairly slim. And that’s a shame, since this deserves to do well.
I could complain that there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done before. The obligatory drum fill and ringing guitar chord opening, the busy NOFX-aping bass lines, the Bad Religion vocal harmonies, the bleeding heart/bad government/don’t let life get you down lyrics. It’s not likely to change the world, but we don’t want it to, or need it to. Because fortunately, it’s all done well, and with enough energy that you can’t help but let it uplift you. Throw in a couple of moments that do start to push the boundaries, like the extended melodic ending of Restored, and the more metallic riffing on AA-11, and you have an album that slowly wheedles it’s way into your head until you somehow find yourself humming the tunes even when the CD has long since finished.
Sometimes you don’t need a band to make great leaps forward in music. It can be enough just to have a solid album of catchy tunes, played well, by people who are obviously enjoying themselves. I just hope that the enjoyment will make up for the serious amount of slogging they’ll have to put in.
7/10
Review by: Michael Freeman
SicZine.com [USA]
LOST IN LINE – Smiles That Scream
I have to admit, I was a huge No Use For A Name fan back in my college days in the mid/late 90’s. Unfortunately, I lost interest in them after the “More Betterness!” album. I did give the two albums that followed it a try and quickly drew disinterested in the band because I felt they began to churn out cookie-cutter renditions of the their own style. NUFAN were the best of the melodic punk rock bands that called Fat Wreck and Epitaph home about a decade ago, however, they became redundant. Wollongong, Australia’s Lost In Line are so damn similar to No Use For A Name you would probably swear I was listening to NUFAN’s new album had you not known better.
Lost In Line are extremely effective in playing this sub genre of punk music. The guitars are near perfect, drumming is efficient, flawless production and the melodic singing is nothing short of extraordinaire. Sadly, I feel LIL fall into the same crevice that No Use has fallen into. As good as they are with the tunes, they fail to craft any standout songs, just as NUFAN has failed to do for quite some time. They don’t have any “Justified Black Eye” or “On The Outside” tracks to their name. A song that can be an instant legend. I firmly believe that if you play any genre of music with melodic prefixed to it, you need to create truly memorable songs. The kind that won’t leave your head for hours or even days.
Don’t get me wrong; this CD is very good, just not special. I know Lost In Line aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but my best memories from bands like No Use and Pulley, to name just two, are from the songs that stick in your ear. I highly recommend this album if you still buy No Use CDs or other mid 90’s melodic punk rock from the sub genres heyday. If you those bands don’t do it for you anymore or never did, then you may want to skip past this release.
Songs Worthy of Replay: “Restored”, “AA-11” & “Faces In The Dark”
Synopsis: No Use For A Name Jr is a more fitting name for this group, but that’s not a totally horrible thing. They’re good at their sound, just not memorable enough to be considered great. For fans of melodic punk rock, I recommend you keep an eye on this band. Remember, this is a debut full-length. I get the feeling they will eventually make me eat my words and create an album to be remembered
Rating: 2.5/5
Review by: John Martin
Subba-Cultcha.com [UK]
LOST IN LINE – Smiles That Scream
Scream that it starts of badly, and smile that it ends in a happy ending.
This is a fairly chunky, melodic punk rock, from Australia’s Lost In Line, particularly on their debut album ‘Smiles That Scream.’ The opening track ‘The Balance’ sounds like a dulled version of Alkaline Trio minus the spiky dark wit. However on ‘The Brightness’ they perk up quite a bit and there’s an extensive and a bit more diverse guitar work going on which attempts to push the song forward into people’s melodies, and its not to far from the ruggedness of fellow Aussies The Living End. The rest of the songs kind of fall into the blandest and vaguest form of skate punk/NoFX style punk and doesn’t really rise above much above that.
‘Faces In The Dark’ has vocals that sound muffled with a slight wining sound, and the guitars don’t really go above midway on the amplifier, and on ‘Choking On Words’ he sounds like the most bored person ever who is quite literally choking on his own words.
However with the second half of the album it seems to get a bit better, on ‘Restored’ the guitar attack is a bit more diverse with a good bit of chugging guitar riffery, with the singer asking ‘who is going to save the world?’ throughout the song, well its not going to be Down In Line. And also ‘The Sky Is Falling’ points at something that is even more diverse, and it has a pondering, almost sorrowful tone to it. Then the title track comes full of confidence and a bit of rage and passion too. So instead of muffling through the track or rushing through the track without leaving an impression which they did through the first few tracks, the later tracks show the real potential of Lost In Line to leave a good impression. ‘AA-11’ has a particularly surprising optimistic charm to it, which weaves its riffs in to your brain.
The problem is that Down In Line’s debut album ‘Smiles That Scream’ just sounds a bit too retro, and could be any record from the punk scene really. But then it is their first album so maybe they can learn from what went wrong on this record. So not quite the perfect the potential album, but it has a fuzzy charm which makes you forget about the bad parts of this record.
3/5
Review by: Ben Bradford
ThePunkSite.com [USA]
LOST IN LINE – Smiles That Scream
Style is a cyclical thing, and punk rock’s pretty much no exception to that. Goes around, comes around, etc. Every few years we’ve got another dead horse to flog – remember the garage-rock fervor that swept Maximum Rocknroll’s review section in the mid-to-late 90s, reaching such a fever pitch that the genre was virtually all they were reviewing or interviewing back then? So, shit, if it’s okay nowadays to relentlessly exhume the well-trod corpses of 1984-era hardcore or 1978 Dangerhouse-style punk – whatever, take your pick – then why shouldn’t bands still be kicking out signature Epitaph “melodic hardcore” like 1995 hadn’t already come and gone? Why the hell not?
When you consider it, Lost In Line must honestly love the living piss out of what they’re playing – because this type of music just isn’t moving units any more. The genre’s been cashed out for nearly a decade. Epitaph’s skate-rock roster has gone the way of hackneyed nu-metal and emaciated dudes with shitty haircuts playing a painful concoction of “shrieking metal/hardcore coupled with pretty, melodic singing parts.”
I mean, skate-rock’s played out, dude. It isn’t 1995 anymore, and it never will be again. The point is, I’m sure Lost In Line knows that.
So it’s obvious that if the band – with their metronomic, kick-heavy drumming, charging guitars that weave around noodling high-end solos and a vocalist that can really sing and hit all the perfect notes – wants to sound almost exactly like Pulley or Ten Foot Pole did over ten years ago, which they do, it’s because they want to. They’re good enough musicians that they could be copying whatever flavor-of-the-month genre is hot right now. Instead, they’re playing this over-and-done-with melodic skate-rock shit, which I find a little endearing, if only for nostalgic purposes.
So that’s it. It’s tight, melodic hardcore that can snap off a solo or tech drumfill or a layered vocal whoa-whoa on a dime. Spot-on production that could’ve been done at Westbeach back in the day. Lyrics that discuss personal issues in that requisitely vague manner – but they’re actually a nod or two above the general crap that often gets passed off with the genre. To sum it up, I don’t know if I’ll ever play this thing again, but Lost In Line are definitely good at what they’re doing, and they’re doing it decisively.
3/5
Review by Keith Rosson
Bombshellzine.com
LOST IN LINE – Smiles That Scream
Ahhh how I long for solid 90’s pop punk, it feels like it has been a while… The bands that I grew up on are mostly still out there releasing, but it just doesn’t feel the same in most cases. Here we have a sound that takes my ears back to the glory days, while still maintaining a modern vibe as well. If you grew up on bands like Lagwagon, No Use For A Name and pretty much the Fat Wreck catalogue, then this album will tickle your fancy to no end. At the same time if you didn’t grow up on that style and are looking for something fresh and easy to get into then take the time and check this album out. Solid as a nut throughout, fast pace, tidy guitar work and melodic as fuck vocals. It’s great to hear, and I certainly hope more bands give it a crack. Puts a lot of the US acts to shame as well, hopefully this album does good things, and opens up some eyes, as it simply is the best pop-punk to come out of this country in a number of years for sure.
5/5
RELEASE DATE:
17 May 2008
Also Available From:
CREDITS:
PCD023
Recorded and Mixed by: Murray Adamson @ Main Street Studios
Assisted by: Adam Jordan
Vocals Recorded by: Jae Haydon
Mastered by: Alessandro Vanara
Artwork by: Pete Pee
