MAINLINE - Where The Ghosts Meet EP

Although their only previous release to now has been the limited edition 'Black Honey' single from 2005, a lack of further releases hasn't stopped Dublin's MAINLINE from establishing themselves as Dublin's finest psychedelic rock band, nor has the lack of released material prevented them from moving towards an international scene over the past few years which has encompassed the sounds of The Black Angels, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Tamborines and The Morning After Girls. Appearances playing alongside some of these bands abroad have included such venues as the much reputed Sonic Cathedral at The Legion in London. MAINLINE, to say the least, have been impressing audiences.


Back when I reviewed a gig of theirs last year, I singled out their unreleased track 'Where The Ghosts Meet' for particular mention. As a noisy psychedelic groove with an aching vocal akin to that of Spiritualized's, primal drumming coupled into a melody echoing The Velvet Underground's 'Heroin', and an excellent riff towards the finish touching on some from The Jesus and Mary Chain's Honeys Dead era, it has all the right ingredients of a perfect psychedelic rock song. It finally sees the light of day this week as the title track to their debut EP, released this March 9th.

As for the other material on the new release, 'No Compromise' stands out as a rather beautifully stripped down song delivered with quaint harmony on vocals all the way through, and with understated lyrics such as "well I know it's kinda hard to be in your shoes right now" it's all quite charmingly captivating, '52 Strings' may be familiar territory, but has a deliciously repetitive groove to it, which gradually builds up without ever blowing over, while closing track 'The Call' takes a slight shift in vocal style, edging more powerful and confident, almost along the lines of Ian McCulloch in parts, but keeps to their characteristic feedback laced guitars, and is quite a strong track to close the EP with. This is a long overdue release by MAINLINE, which goes some way towards correcting an imbalance in unreleased material, but with other fine tracks recorded such as 'Mary Jane' held back from the EP, and the 'Black Honey' single long since sold-out, one wonders whether an aggregate album could yet lie in wait.

A short Irish tour is lined up over March encompassing gigs in Dublin, Belfast, Limerick and Waterford, with more dates expected to be announced soon. Material from the EP can be streamed from their myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/mainline

http://www.mainlinesounds.com