Record Review: Linus - White Marks On A White Wall
Written by Russ Crandall   
Thursday, 04 March 2010 18:24
White Marks on a White Wall is the second album by criminally-unsigned indie rock band Linus. I've had the pleasure of following them during their entire 10+ years of existence, and it's been a wild ride. Their debut album, The Construction, was released in 2005 and featured two distinctive elements: an undeniable potential, and poor production that never gave these exciting songs justice. The Construction showed a young band that had the makings of the next Weezer, while hinting at a depth that Weezer only dreamed about reaching. It was full of catchy vocal melodies that were complemented by bright, colorful bass trimmings and and emerging guitar prowess. Lead single, "Arrivals and Departures", was features on Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 on the Xbox 360, which was ridiculously cool.

Despite its double-reference to something brighter, I had first considered White Marks on a White Wall a dark spot on their decade of music making. Linus set out to record these songs even before The Construction released, and it took five years for them to finally surface. The delay is the result of near-obsessive recording sessions, lineup changes, periods of inactivity and some navel-gazing introspection. I feared that by the time this album finally hit the streets, it would have lost its relevancy; I'm happy to say that in the end, this is a complicated and conflicting record that simply isn't showing any signs of age.

Upon initial listen, the individual tracks don't stand out as much as the classics on their first album, but I'm floored by what they did with them. White Marks on a White Wall features top-notch production taste and a perfect mix. Singer/guitarist Dave Neely's guitar chops have exploded, while showing a restraint that keeps each track from meandering. Gone are the pop leanings of Weezer (other than on track nine, "SoSo"), and instead we see a band that's grown exponentially in other directions; they've taken onboard the dance-stylings of bands like Franz Ferdinand and Hot Hot Heat but on their own terms, ratcheting the intensity back a hair and adding a jazz influence a la The Sea and the Cake or The Whitest Boy Alive. The end product is an album that's wholly listenable in several settings.

There are a couple tracks that are worth skipping, but all in all I'm enjoying this album much more than I expected to be. What's even better is that their most recent songs take their sound even further; if they can get those out soon, they'll have the world at their feet.

track two - "Listen Up!"


Release date: February 1st, 2010
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