Zoe McVeigh from LIINES: “I play a Fender Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang – people come to me live to take pictures with it! “
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Manchester has long been revered for its alternative art scene. From the Madchester boom in the early ’90s – invented by infamous Factory Records owner Tony Wilson – to the Gallagher brothers wielding their Northern influence in a Britpop battle with Blur to dominate the charts.
And its streets are still home to a wave of emerging artists, including post-punk trio LIINES, who performed on the same program as The Charlatans’ Salford songwriter Tim Burgess earlier this year at The North Festival. Will Rise Again. Burgess has been an integral part of the savings two of the most iconic places in the city since it closed last summer, as O’Sullivan explains.
“[Tim] was part of the group that bought Gorilla and the Deaf Institute. The Deaf Institute for Us is very close to our hearts. We did loads of gigs there and Zoe DJs there.
LIINES also performed as part of Gorilla TV, founded by the same collective to broadcast live performances from empty ships at clubs and venues in the region. The shows were the first live release of LIINES new addition to bass, Anna Donnigan (Honeyblood, formerly PINS).
But as McVeigh reflects, a lot of virtual concert experiences haven’t really sparked the fierce backlines that LIINES has become famous for since forming from the longtime Hooker’s ashes of indie guys in 2014.
âWe made a few to say, ‘We’re still here!’ but it’s not the same as playing live in front of an audience [so] it was nice to access a microphone, turn up the amps and feel the life come back.
the beginnings of LIINES, Stop – Start (2018) saw the trio – at the time with founding bassist Steph Walker – teaming up with producer Paul Tipler who ensured the levels of some similar iconic indie outfits from Idlewild to Stereolab. For McVeigh, the collaboration was obvious after a tip from the label of the group Reckless Yes.
“[They] called him Steve Albini from England who recorded Get rid of me by PJ Harvey, one of my all-time favorite albums. I was like ‘you don’t need to tell me more, I’m sold!’ ”
When the band entered the studio, they had a clear goal in mind, “a 10-track album in the style of Sleater-Kinney’s debut album,” McVeigh beams. â28 minutes of exactly what we wanted,â and it quickly became apparent that Tipler was the man for the job.
âLive people say we sound big anyway, but we’ve had a hard time getting it across in the recording in the past. Then, as soon as we recorded with him, we were like, âWe found ours. “
The record won huge accolades with the broadcast of Radio X and BBC Radio 6 Music, powered by support from the Women Make Music grant from the PRS Foundation, a fund supporting projects of women, trans songwriters and non-binary, composers, artists, groups and performers. write and release their own music.
An opportunity for which O’Sullivan is continually grateful, “[The grant] helped fund the press and marketing for the release which was huge, huge support, but also a statement that something like that believed in what they heard because we know how bad it is. ‘is competitive.
LIINES ‘debut was an explicit reference to the stop-start nature of making the record with the three band members working full time alongside the band. But, after the last 18 months, writing and recording new tracks has proven to be an equally elusive prospect this time around for their second outing, as McVeigh puts it: âGod knows how this next album is going. to call… A very long wait! “
After last year’s limited 7 “single sorry/Again and again, last issue keep on going then acts as an appetizer for this upcoming feature film and felt like the right exit after everything the trio went through, according to O’Sullivan.
âIt seemed like a necessary song. It’s six words, but we need those six words and something like that to scream and scream now as we come back to concerts.
The song’s chorus “continue / stay with me” was chanted across the festival grounds this summer as LIINES returned to the stage, though the drummer admits the audience may have been slightly biased in his response.
âWe could have said ‘This is the worst song you will ever hear’ and they would have said ‘Yeah!’ because they were so happy to be in a tent with live music. McVeigh adding curtly: âIt wasn’t the best barometer for testing songs!
Undoubtedly modest, the track delivers dense drums and dark riffs inspired by McVeigh’s baby blue Fender Jag-Stang which she now recognizes as quite indispensable. âI can’t get rid of this guitar. Kurt’s name is on it. People come to me at concerts and want pictures with it.
So how does she compliment such an event when it comes to amplification? “I use a Marshall [Valvestate VS100]. I would like a Fender to match [but] it’s just what I’ve built over the years. When I started a long time ago, I had nothing. I borrowed a guitar, I borrowed my amp.
The streamlined guitarist setup was also recently completed with the addition of a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive pedal, although McVeigh seems reluctant to add more to the rig, especially if it could add unnecessary theatricality to gigs. seriousness of the group. âDoes he want a neighbor? Can my foot do a third pedal? I don’t want to do the riverdance when I’m trying to look intense.
But while the riffs and the rig can remain sparse, the ambitions of the group towards LP2 only become more complex. âWe’ve reached four minutes in our new songs,â boasts McVeigh. “Program!” O’Sullivan jokes, quickly following more curiously, “Is there any prog-punk?” There should be. âJust like their Manchester masters before them, the LIINES roll with it.
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