Defektors… Aug 14

Defektors
with B-Lines, the New Values, and Dichotomy
at the Honey Lounge, August 14, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

Chad Loewen’s inebriated dicking around seemed like a detractor in the moment, but really, it defined Dichotomy’s sound. Beats are non-existent, relentless runs of snare/hi-hat/kick smashes surrogating. Screams were squeezed through the sound system, coming out as bursts of white noise. The bass parts were ripped off from an alternate Ramones who went hardcore after Leave Home. Over top of all of it, Mister Loewen layered shitloads of feedback and distortion on his scrappy chords, before fucking around for 10 minutes, alternately annoying and entertaining. Did I like them? I have no idea.

B-Lines… July 19

B-Lines
with White Lung and Chris-a-riffic
at the Chez Nous Ballroom, July 19, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

Chris-a-riffic opened the loft with his insistence that everyone was going to hate him and the idea of him opening for B-Lines and White Lung was ridiculous. He followed it up with a short set of delightful pop. The piano teacher neglected his casio, relying on a floor tom, some A Capella percussion, and audience participation to grind along beneath his clever lyrics and endearing voice.

Tranzmitors… March 8

Tranzmitors
with Dateless, the Spinoffs, and B-Lines
at Pub 340, March 8, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

B-Lines are victims of school and jobs. Norm’s last show was a spastic showcase of why they deserve to trash punk houses inter-continentally. It was brief and sloppy, and maybe the wildest I’ve seen them play. Ryan keeps getting more comfortable, scaling the balcony, swinging the mic, and smashing light-bulbs. Everything was on overdrive, and broken glass suited the attack of a band on its way to being one of Vancouver’s most exciting.

Walls… Feb. 16

Walls
with High Jinks, B-Lines, Ghost Dance, and War Hero
at Casa del Artista, February 16, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

War Hero are obvious teenagers. There’s no reason that their hardcore-with-too-much metal isn’t on its way to being good. They were trying really hard, and if they cut back on distortion, the song about skateboarding was approaching enjoyable straight-forward punk.

The Evaporators… Jan. 25 & 26

The Evaporators
at HMV, January 25, 2008
The Evaporators
with B-Lines, the Elixxxers, and Lala
at Seylynn Hall, January 26, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

HMV is a great venue when you like luring kids past endless piles of over-priced CDs.

Stamina Mantis… Jan. 19

Stamina Mantis
with B-Lines, Nü Sensae, and Stuffed Animals
at the Astoria, January 19, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

High-school two-pieces are an excuse to not know songs. It’s kind of the same thing when people grow up.

B-Lines – Demo

B-Lines
Demo Tape
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

B-Lines songs average sixty-six seconds each, which leaves just under eighty-five minutes of blank tape to play once the five songs are over. Why would someone release a cassette in this day and age? There’s a tape renaissance in the works; like vinyl, tapes fight disposability by forcing the listener to actually interact (when was the last time you rewound an mp3?) with their purchase. Unlike vinyl, cassettes can hold a lot of music and are dirt cheap to make. Hopefully having that explained to you has got you to dust off your old tape deck in preparation.