Black Lining – Twist My Arm 7″ (Keep It A Secret Records)

Today we have another exceptional Keep It A Secret Records release that recently arrived at our headquarters. We all have those days when we crave grunge, punk rock, or something between these two genres. That’s the time when this band ideally jumps into the action. Their music comes as more than a necessary dosage of abrasive sounds you need to preserve sanity during the working week. Black Lining is a German punk rock band from Mainz, and Twist My Arm is their debut extended-play, released in 2018. According to sources on the web, it seems this EP is their only recorded material, but believe me, it’s worth your time.

Twist My Arm carries three excellent punk rock songs, but as usually is the case, these guys are not solely into this particular genre. Quite the contrary, you’ll hear crucial elements of other complementary music genres like grunge and pop-punk. However, these guys aren’t into the grunge revival or modern pop-punk sound. They dominantly levitate towards the early nineties music when these genres were in development. Every composition comes with a set of three or four-chord progressions, empowered by equally good warm-sounding basslines and moderate rhythmic sequences. The lead vocalist provides a performance that perfectly suits these orchestrations, and I adore how he continuously balances between mellow harmonies and aggressive shoutouts.

Another thing that puts Black Lining in the spotlight is generous servings of abrasive, raw, dirty sounds flawlessly matched with the sheer aggression delivered by the tireless rhythm section. These sonic maneuvers define the ear-appealing but not overly calm sound, which surprises your listening apparatus with each delivered note and beat. Also, the vocalist stands out with his performance, but let’s not forget back vocals and singalongs. Like the rest of the orchestrations, the band thoroughly planned these details and applied them in all the right places. Black Lining cleverly assembled each of these three songs, so you’ll have a fun time listening to this debut EP. Maybe Twist My Arm lacks more songs, but it’s a 7″ release anyway, so I hope these guys will publish some new material soon. Head to Keep It A Secret Records for more information about ordering this punk rock gem.