Between 1978 and 1983,The Lines released 5 singles, 1 EP and 2 LPs to mixed reviews and little sales. One reviewer at the time noted: "The stumbling block for instant accolades seems to be the puzzling paradox that these are lasting pieces of work which require several listens before they finally take root in your soul." Sure enough, anybody who's spent enough time with these records has developed a cult like devotion to The Lines.

Acute Records is excited to present our latest and final release, the “lost” third album by The Lines. After the release of their cult­classic singles, EPs and LPs (compiled on Acute’s Memory Span and Flood Bank releases,) The Lines continued to record, first in a series of home experiments and then in William Orbit’s Guerilla Studios. Unfortunately these recordings were never finalized as band mem0bers began to drift apart.

Although they played shows with bands like The Cure, Bauhaus and Birthday Party, and featured members of prag Vec and AlternativeTV, they were never part of any scene. They never toured and rarely spoke to the press. For 5 years they rehearsed, performed and recorded to little acclaim, leaving only 8 releases on vinyl. While unappreciated in their time, they perfectly encapsulate the best qualities of the era: angst ridden Angularity, danceable catchiness, sublime dub­influenced atmospherics, sonic experimentation and killer hooks, with an unrivalled consistency.

Singer and multi­instrumentalist Rico Conning continued working at Guerilla, spending the better part of the 80s engineering and remixing such artists as Wire, Coil, Swans,Renegade Soundwave, Depeche Mode and many others of your favourite bands, often in collaboration with Mute’s Daniel Miller.

Some of the skills utilized on those era­defining records are prefigured in the more dance oriented selections on hull down, such as the new wave grooves of “Single Engine Duster” and “Raffle” or the vocoder electro­funk of “Where in the World,” These tracks marry drum machine programming with classic post­punk textures in a way not dissimilar to other artists making the post­punk to dance­floor transition circa 1983. Songs like Flat Feet” and “Archway” recall the atmospheric post­punk dub of their prior LPs, but with a decidedly more electronic sheen. Other compositions include instrumental experiments exploring cross­sections between home­recorded DIY post- punk and sequencer rhythms.

Over 20 years after these sessions, the original cassette tapes were dusted off and different incarnations have been blended or cross­faded to create a version of what might’ve been a third LP, an alternate 80s where The Lines continued developing and exploring.