Fans of the post-punk shouldn't let fear of diminishing returns dissuade them from checking out The Lines. While Memory Span is not a proverbial lost masterpiece of rock and roll, the songs collected display enough nuance and diversity to separate the band from usual glut of also-rans and could-have-beens.
The Lines had an auspicious beginning. Their first single, the mid tempo creeper "White Nights" was well received by Slash magazine among other punk tastemakers. In the song, singer Rico Conning (who later went on to remix songs from Depeche Mode, Sting, Frank Tovey, and Coil's "Anal Staircase") coos about a midnight rendezvous while dual guitars chime and churn like streetlights drifting in the distance. As good as the single was, it could have been the band's swan song. Soon after its release, Conning flew off to explore America and the band was put on hiatus for a few years.
Following their singer's return to England, The Lines resumed playing and recording, but they were a much different entity. The music now had a manic edge. Conning's voice lost its cool confidence, and his singing acquired a stained, nasal pinch. The chorus of "Dance to a Drop of Blood" is practically sneezed out. Fortunately, the band worked their way out a stylistic rut, immersing themselves in the dubbed out, post-disco zeitgeist of late '70s Britain.
Like their peers on Mute and Factory, The Lines inverted the simplicity and anger of punk-rock into a mechanical, introspective sound. Rhythm and atmosphere began to take precedence over vocals or melody. Thumping bass lines or percolating drum machines now anchored the songs while trumpet, chiming guitar, and echoed sound effects floated about. The lyrics became even more abstract and impressionistic, often focusing disillusionment and neurosis. Conning's voice still strained and buzzed, but seemed more of piece with the songs, rather than a reflection of his limitations as a singer.
Despite their lack of commercial success, the Lines ended as a better band than when they began. They played with notables of that era, among them Fad Gadget, The Cure, The Birthday Party, and Bauhaus. They may have lacked the notoriety (posthumous or otherwise) of their fellow travelers, but it was not from lack of trying. Whatever their limitations were, the band continually changed their sound for the better. They kept innovating, and held their ears open to what was new and important. So many great things about a band are out of the artist's control, but you can at least credit The Lines for working in the right direction.
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