This band from New Haven, Connecticut, which is made up of several veteran scene members who have shared and continue to share time in some of the state’s finest musical endeavors, have just released their debut EP. Spiral Lines brims with sincerity and grit, offering a five tunes that split the difference between garage rock, power pop, hard rock and art rock. Plus, they got a not-so-secret-weapon in guitarist Ben Erickson, whose ripping solos add an extra bit of ooophm to the songs here.
The EP opens with “Hulkamaniax”, an up-tempo, gritty, yet fun rocker, bolstered by one of Erickson’s solos. “Man Of Year” follows down the same loose rocking vibe as the previous track. In it, they declare their love for home city of New Haven. “No Credit” is an angular 1:15 burst of energy, that still finds time to pack in some melody. “No Kill Blues” switches between quieter parts on the verses and little explosions of rock on the chorus, before a ripping solo rises from the muck, before going quiet and then ending loud and full of feedback. It has a very early 70’s hard rock vibe about it. “Safari Lounge” is a fuzzed-out garage rock nugget, that alternates between quiet and loud, ending the EP with a bang.
Spiral Lines is an excellent introduction to this new band from a bunch of older dogs. It’s some of the best offbeat, classic sounding rock you’re likely to hear all year. Give it a try.
