You will never reel over Tripline.
Nor will you swoon over this local band’s lurching instrumental ability, nor their nebulous vocal ability, nor their banal lyrics.
However, the one thing distinguishing Tripline’s CD “Right There” is that the bland lyrics do not preach anarchy although the CD features the standard operational guitar and drum distortion that typifies a lot of other ho-hum bands; the lumbering chaos in Tripline’s instrumentation does not permeate its lyrics. However, that is not saying much for them. I’ll say this much for Tripline: when Tripline played live Oct. 26 at Bakersfield College during Homecoming Week, they sounded about the way they do on their CD; however, that is not much of a compliment. Often there is a discrepancy between the way a band sounds on a CD and the way they sound live.
However, that still is not saying much for this band; the cynical twang of Tripline’s guitars coupled with their almost cloying, trite lyrics seems almost oxymoronic. At times, Tripline tries for the chthonic appeal that dates back to Jim Morrison, but they basically fail in such songs as “By My Side” and “Right There.”
When Tripline’s lyrics occasionally surface from deep underneath the slashing rain torrent of drum work, they are clichÇs, such as “fight ’til the end,” “time is the enemy,” “you can run to me,” “I’ll be right there for you,” etc. Perhaps Tripline can be forgiven for that, since usually rock music lyrics are often hackneyed and not at all impressive. At least Tripline’s lyrics are not obnoxious.
However, you’ll never fall for Tripline’s lines. You should not.
Tripline’s “balls out,” tottering instrumentation is slightly better than singer and guitarist Spencer Walker’s vocal ability; however, nothing about their instrumental attempts at affecting primordial chaos is unique.
Walker appears to struggle weakly to keep up with the pace set by the guitar and drums. The slogging pace of his voice stays pretty much the same throughout all of Tripline’s songs (on stage and on the CD “Right There”).
Walker and the two other members seem to be in a musical neck-to-neck race to beat the other to their anticlimactic punch, which is the way all of their songs seem to end. It almost seems like Tripline wants to speed through their songs just in case the listeners get bored, and they seem to assume that that is an ominous possibility.