Two new tracks from THE MORNING LINE, out now and slated to join remixed versions of the band's personal favorites on a new album due this Autumn from Big Stir Records
THE MORNING LINE (San Francisco)
Northern California indie rockers THE MORNING LINE have been around, in various configurations, for over 20 years. Its members have been playing for even longer. In the years since his first album was released, singer-songwriter-guitarist Stephen Smith has seen many folks come and go. With Boston outfits Salem 66, God’s Eye, and Green Magnet School, he recorded for labels like Sub Pop, Homestead, and Domino and shared stages with Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr. and innumerable others. The sound that THE MORNING LINE has cultivated across four albums and EPs belongs in exactly that lineage, blending ‘80s postpunk and college rock jangle with ’90s alt-rock drive and an occasional tinge of No Depression-style Americana. It's Smith's literate but emotive lyricism and striking vocals (evocative of McGuinn, Costello, Stipe, Tweedy and Grant Hart) that pull the band's sonic excursions together and provide the band's unmistakable identity.
The rest of the lineup is an equally remarkable coterie of Northern California indie all-stars. Guitarist Brian Mello has played with just about everyone in San Francisco, most notably in his band The Bellyachers. He is one of the Bay Area's go-to guitar players, and a gifted writer and producer. Drummer Peter Craft and bassist David Knupp have similarly been found in most of the venues in the SF Area, and many of the bands. A lot of the Bay Area’s music has their fingerprints on it. Peter is also an important Bay Area recording engineer and studio impresario. His studio, Boxer Lodge, where all these songs were recorded, is part of the lifeblood of the Northern California's pop, roots and country music communities.
While THE MORNING LINE doesn't forget the Nineties, it knows that life - and music – goes on. The band’s songs fit nicely beneath contemporary indie pop’s big tent, and draw from influences all over rock’s map. According to reviewers, RIYLs include Matthew Sweet, Velvet Crush, Teenage Fanclub, Neil Young and Orange Peels. Their new album and debut for Big Stir Records is STARS. a 21-track career-spanning anthology with a twist, featuring two new songs, a demo dating all the way back to 2004, and a selection of the band’s best work from the years in between. The songs have all been remixed, bringing out their best features more clearly than ever. Due this Autumn, it's a summing up of the band’s deeply rewarding accomplishments to date as well as an ideal introduction to just what makes THE MORNING LINE so deserving of the wider indie pop world's attention.