Thin Dark Line sound a little bit like June – y’know that poppy post-hardcore sound that’s been recycled a billion times but still sound ok. ‘The Resolution’ is actually a concept album that follows a man on his journey through life and documents the decisions he makes down the line. Although it’s not as good as Boys Night Out‘s ‘Trainwreck’, it does fare better than most in the storyline stakes – it’s just a pity that the music itself isn’t quite as intriguing as the subject matter.
Vocally the band sound like a cross between the aforementioned Victory Records band and the more melodic bits of Dustin Kensrure of Thrice. The guitars are a little too clean, so while ‘Powers of Ten’ and ‘Go Ahead and Jump’ sound reasonably good for the first few listens they tend to grate and get a bit dull quite quickly. The hooks are hooky, but not strong enough to really grab me long-term. One thing that stands out is the constant use of guitar solos; it’s like the band hit ona good thing one day in practice and decided to weave lead guitar parts into every single song. Sometimes they follow the vocal melody, at others (like ‘Lights To The South’) they just seem a bit overblown and unnecessary.
I suppose this record is worth checking out if you’re a fan of the genre, but it’s already been done to death and there are other bands that have done this better. If you want to listen to genuinely good concept CDs, then dig out the latest Armor For Sleep or Boys Night Out records as they are far, far better. Thin Dark Line are by no means a bad band, but they’re not good enough to stand out from the pack or original enough to make you want to continually listen.
www.thindarkline.com
One Eleven Records
Paul