Lien: "6 Mill Of 185"

There’s an ancient remedy to clearing that long-standing “unsigned” hurdle: instead of mailing three-track demos to every imprint in the Northern Hemisphere, simply pick out your zestiest ditty and get it on the desk of the ad man. It worked for Mr Oizo and Stiltskin in the UK (though at the cost of their shelf life and integrity, perhaps) and it came this close to working for ambient stuntmen Lien, who very nearly found themselves the new face of Levi when they sent in a disc a couple of years ago. In true Cool Runnings fashion they got all the way to the finals, taking home bronze while gold and silver went to Mogwai and Boards Of Canada respectively. Clearly the commercial’s producers could see something in the undiscovered Southampton computer duo that bracketed them alongside two such high-punching cult heavyweights.

Well, like a boomerang that came home the long way, it’s now possible to glimpse that allure again on the latest cut to be trialed for the Lien comeback LP. Following on from Matica (2002) and its self-titled sequel three years hence, Lien now offer a more feisty, temperamental insight into their neon celluloid soundworlds. “6 Mill Of 185” uses erupting glyphs to portray a city in endless time-lapse, traffic stabilised only by the drawl of the lower hertz as guitars condense into luminous smog. It’s lively to the point where you could believe the band’s hiatus has been spent scoring steroids, and radiates more awe and white noise than a bomb on the side of the Alps. Maybe Lien will never get as near to mainstream recognition as they did with their denim entry, but with material like this on standby, I’m sure it won’t be too long before the independent filmmakers start returning their calls.

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