Description

If Mike Ness had been Scandinavian and grown up in a funeral parlor, he might have formed a band like Helsinki’s I Walk the Line. Regardless of their name, about the only thing the quintet (which features members of Manifesto Jukebox and Wasted) shares with Johnny Cash is his air of rebellion wrapped in a confident cool. Instead of country, the band revels in dark, organ-driven punk that owns both a greaser’s swagger and love of rock & roll, but with a much smoother and more composed delivery than any of their raucous Gearhead peers. Desolation Street is tough yet vulnerable, owning a certain flair for nocturnal dramatics (the organ does it every time) that constantly swirl amidst the backdrop of clean guitars and punchy percussion. I Walk the Line is simply consistent. And consistency, especially when it amounts to an album like Desolation Street, is never a bad thing.