Paying dues is an often overlooked aspect of the rock and roll lexicon. Welcome to the world of Ivoryline, where hard work, perseverance and passion are the edicts of life and pave the road they travel.
Born into the burgeoning Texas music scene circa 2005, Ivoryline has carved a path of success with tenacity and musical force of will that has made their journey less a road to perdition and more rock and roll Utopia.
Enter Ivoryline, a band whose spiritual integrity bypasses musical wallowing and goes straight for the mainline of your emotional jugular with intensely personal lyrics and dense blasts of guitars.
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There came Ivoryline| Posted June 09, 2008
Leaving Texas behind, and the name Dead End Driveway, Ivoryline is already making a impact with their emo rock. Focusing on the music more than girls and stars, Ivoryline’s determination is already commendable. With help from one of the best produces in the business, Aaron Sprinkle, Ivoryline is out with their debut album There came a Lion.
Wondering about Ivoryline’s music? Emo rock with a heavy Anberlin influence, with an early Falling Up album formula and don’t forget the “dense blasts of guitars”. The launch of the debut album is “days end” a hard fast paced rock song which frequently changes from a light tune to a softer one, the one drawback is the ‘sleep’ and ’sweep’ part in the song gets repetitive quickly. The sense of emergency in Jeremy Gray vocals aids the good rock song, so is “parade” which is a faced paced rock song. The reason the metaphors about the music stay unchanged is the result of the similarity between many of the songs. When the chemistry does change, it is the result of the music switching from just a bad verse to a better part of the chorus in “all you ever”, which still isn’t very impressive.
One of the more Anberlin influenced songs and single “be still and breathe” sounds just a little off at parts, but is still a huge rock highlight. “Remind me I’m alive”, also with a Anberlin flair, has a pretty hard but melodic tune. “let us falling” is more the same solid emo rock, but “and the truth will end this” has a more upbeat rock style. Will an super chorus, “bravery” is a above average rock song for the album, but “hearts and minds” still falls into the category of good rock, with a tune which is not distant enough from most of the other songs. A major highlight “ is last words” which employs a similar style to that of “be still and breath” but it changes tunes more frequently with more grace than most of the album.
Trying to bridge their way past usual emo rock band simplicity when it comes to lyrics, Ivoryline does a better job then some. Among the vague references to Christianity, are clear cut references to their faith on “remind me I‘m alive” (‘everything I see reminds me/Of just how beautiful you can be’) and “be still and breathe” which is a hopeful statement. “Days end” has so many good things to say (‘we should scream "thank you" /with every waking breath… It is then when we will cry for forgiveness,/yet not understand the weight of our words/nor the depth of His love./But he will deliver’), and “hearts and minds” is solid too. But other lyrics are not so clear as parade says: ‘Kindness/is dead in this town /and drama has been crowned’.
Chances are Ivoryline could have been more direct, but as some projects go it’s more than clear enough. Individually most of the songs are good, some are even great but as a whole the music is in need of a little help. More musical diversity would be appreciated in future projects, but There came a Lion is a great place to start.
Ivoryline, another addition to Tooth & Nail’s growing roster of modern rock, emo-influenced, post-punk bands, delivers a fine debut with There Came A Lion. The band‘s first full-length, nationally distributed disc falls squarely into what I call the “Tooth & Nail style” and bears more than a close resemblance to the sound of label mates Anberlin. Upon close inspection of the liner notes, credits and “thanks” this came as no surprise since über-producer Aaron Sprinkle is known to leave a very conspicuous stamp on projects he produces.
Three songs from the band’s EP The Life You Have experience a Sprinkle produced makeover and appear on There Came a Lion: The high-energy “Day’s End,” the anthemic “Parade” and the brisk anthem “Bravery.” The discs other 8 songs are equally energetic. (Noticing a pattern here?)
The band does a fantastic job of creating engaging lyrics that move between introspective and accusatory, as well as making appealing rock music. Jeremy Gray's vocals are superb but lack a distinguishing texture that mark them distinct from other similarly voiced frontmen. It is this similitude, along with Sprinkle’s production and Ivoryline’s proximal Anberlin sound that may hinder them; which would be unfortunate. Without investigation, listeners may mistake the band’s worthwhile effort for unknown or new music from Mr. Christian & Co.
Ivoryline is a band that you should find appealing if you’re into the music of Kids in the Way, This Beautiful Republic, Search The City, Wavorly, and of course, the aforementioned Anberlin.
Fully Surprised| Posted February 24, 2008
New Tooth and Nail band Ivoryline's debut album really surprised me. The songs I heard on the Internet were really good and I liked them a lot but when I listened to the album I enjoyed every single song found on it. (I should have added some commas in that last sentence somewhere.) Albums that have solid songs throughout are hard to find. Some albums that have all good songs that I love are:
Thousand Foot Krutch: Phenomenon
The Showdown: Temptation Come My Way
Family Force 5: Buisness Up Front/Party in the Back (Diamond Edition included)
Now I better add Ivoryline to this list as well. Ivoryline has prooved to us that they will be around for a very long time.
Very good new T&N rock band| Posted February 16, 2008
I got this CD the day it came out. I had downloaded for free the song "Be Still And Breathe" and liked it a lot. The song grew on me and I was interested in the new CD. Many new bands are coming out now days and some of them I only like one or two songs by them. I took a chance on this new rock band and this CD did not disappoint me at all.
I like music that has driving guitars and drums. Their music is in the same line as Anberlin but of course different vocals.
If you like rock music and want to check out a great new Tooth and Nail band (which are often very good) check these guys out. I think it would be great to see them live sometime.
It's so good, I'm getting tired of it! NOT!| Posted December 01, 2008
There came a doubt. I wasn't sure if these guys were for real. I first heard their song, "Be Still and Breathe." and fell in love! I had to pursue the album! Their screaming guitars, the lead singer's howling vocals leave a great sense of excitement and relativity for every listener. Their record company, Tooth and Nail, has always hooked me for their great bands, this is no exception. The cover art alone stands out to say, "We got something to show you!" If you're in the neighbor hood for an album like no other, then try out the only band for you: Ivoyline.
A solid debut| Posted September 25, 2008
This cd is really good,in my opinion.It's a very strong debut and I'm excited to hear more from these guys!I love "We Both Know" and "All You Ever Hear".
Ivoryline| Posted June 30, 2008
There came a Lion is a fast past cd that will not bore you in tempo/pace, however, some songs tend to sound similar. This does not mean it is not worth listening to, though! Day's End, All You Ever Hear, Be still & Breathe, Left Us Falling, And the Truth Will End This, Hearts & Minds, and The Last Words are great songs! The songs talk about real life themes and situations, just listen to the lyrics, very encouraging. Track 11 is a passionate song that Frontman Jeremy Gray wrote about someone he really cared about, it is a very touching and powerful song. This cd was over all pretty good.
Great CD| Posted May 04, 2008
For anyone who has doubts about god or any other aspect of their faith, it seems this cd pretty much covers a lot of them with their lyrics. The way they put together great songs with the music itself really sells it with the motivation behind the lyrics. Helped me alot with some of my doubts.
Lions!| Posted April 23, 2008
Everytime I get an awesome CD, I wonder if there can ever be anything beyond that. Another CD out there that can match up to the awesomeness of that. And then something like 'There Came A Lion' comes along. This is an awesome album. I love Tooth and Nail's stuff in general, but this is more than love.
Sure to be in your player for months| Posted March 24, 2008
Ahh a breath of fresh air! This CD has "play me!" written all over it. This album is all about getting up from our pews and doing something for Christ.
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