Single Review: The Answering Machine – Lifeline
Manchester indie rock band the Answering Machine have a new single out on Valentine’s Day. Called ‘Lifeline’, it’s the title track from their album to be released very soon.
Even before I begin, my prediction is this is going to be the pining sort of love song, considering the title of the song *is*, after all, ‘Lifeline’. It begins with a great bass line (serious groove) and drums, followed by atmospheric synths and guitar. The first words? “I’m better off you, alone / I’m better on my own / all this oxygen and bone / leave me to breathe it out”. Good start. This chap is showing he’s living – or at least coping without his previous other half. In the next section, he’s singing about “where we can work this out”. Uh oh. I should have guessed, he’s going to try and make this work, even though the relationship has ended…
Next, some words are sung in a megaphone or put through a filter that makes the lyrics pretty much unintelligible. Chorus? “You call me sometimes / you’re blocking out all the sights / throw me a lifeline / I know we’re gonna work this out.” When you are the dumped, this is how it always ends up, doesn’t it? You want the other person to throw you a bone, an olive branch, anything…just so you think there’s a chance you might get back together. Is it healthy? No. But everyone can relate to this. Everyone. And this I think will be the key to this song’s popularity. I mean, come on. Affairs of the heart never go smoothly, do they?
Ok, so the lyrics are a bit sappy. Still, I like this track a lot. The lyrics rhyme and they make sense, there are no useless rhymes in here. (And trust me, this is a lot harder than you might think.) Instrumentally, it’s fun, it’s danceable. If this is a good indication of things to come in the ‘Lifeline’ album, this should be an amazing set of songs. I can’t wait.
8/10
The ‘Lifeline’ single by the Answering Machine will be released the 14th of February through Heist Or Hit Records, Bandcamp and iTunes.
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