A Lines - A Lines
by Sarah Rowland
published: 19 / 4 / 2005

Label:
Purr Records
Format: CD
intro
"Charged, crisp and original" all girl punk on debut album from the A-Lines, which features members of Thee Headcoatees and was produced by Billy Childish
The A-Lines' debut album, at only 25 minutes long, is over all too soon. Four ladies from around the globe come together to create energetic girl – punk that is charged, crisp and original. Kyra is the voice of the band, bringing a Belgian twang to the vocals, Debbie is on drums, Delia on bass and Seattle born Julie on guitar. Both Kyra and Debbie were members of Thee Headcoatees along with Holly Golightly. This is just the start of an extensive list of bands all four of the girls have played with. This self-titled album is produced by Billy Childish and his influence is omnipresent. Rapid drum beats and hollow, raw guitar sounds chain the twelve songs together. Track one, ‘Four’, sets the pace of the album with a metallic sound and arty lyrics that skip across the song. There are elements of early Republica in the lyrics and the guitar is reminiscent of early White Stripes. My favourite track on the album has to be ‘Nothing Personal’. Kyra’s voice is erratic and carefree. This song makes me think of times when no-one else is in the house and I can sing at the top of my lungs bending my voice however strangely I want. ‘More Wax Please’ and ‘Sideways’ both have grittier sounding lyrics and the style of singing sounds a lot like Tori Amos and Kate Bush, albeit less trained. I love the sound of ‘Agitated.’ It fits the title perfectly. This song has an innocent almost childish quality, and makes me think of teenagers rocking out in their parents' garage. The closing lyrics “sometimes I think I’d be better off dead, just like my cousin Fred” sum up teenage angst to a tee. ‘One Day’ was released as a single and returns to softer sounding lyrics. This works well but I think the A-Lines will be remembered for their more out there style and fun arty lyrics. I expect to see a lot more from the A-Lines, I just hope with their next album they manage to maintain their quirkiness while progressing their sound.
Track Listing:-
1 Four2 Nothing Personal
3 Can't Explain
4 Wrong Way Home
5 You Can Touch
6 Nice
7 More Wax Please
8 Sideways
9 Agitated
10 One Day
11 Day One
12 Last One There
interviews |
Interview (2005) |
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Medway based all girl punk band The A-Lines have recently released their self-titled debut album. Sarah Johnson speaks to Belgium-born singer Kyra De Coninck about it , and juggling the band with babies and impending motherhood |
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