I Walk The Line hail from Finland (Helsinki to be exact), although you get absolutely no hint of that fact when you listen to them. The singer sounds more like he was born in a northern mining town and grew up listening to a hefty mix of the Clash, Chas and Dave and Half Man Half Biscuit. Its gruff punk rock with a nod to the old-school.
Boss Tuneage records, the perennial purveyors of foreign bands’ albums since before Jesus was born, are responsible for bringing IWTL’s album over to the UK. Its no surprise that they have done this for precisely the reasons I have already mentioned – this is a release dreamed up for a UK audience. At times, IWTL sound quite a lot like Failsafe – the vocal melodies and the eye for a catchy hook. At others they remind me a bit of Face to Face – the music has an edge to it, but is poppy enough for anyone to have a cheeky listen.
I realize all this so far makes them sound absolutely amazing, but I do have my reservations as well. The guy’s voice really begins to grate after not too many tunes – it’s a real marmite affair. One minute he’s quirky and something a bit different, the next you just begin to wonder whether his voice is anywhere near as annoying when he’s speaking his native language.
One thing I must warn you all now too – there’s not a Johnny Cash cover in sight.
Mike