Eschewing any grooming as England’s next big thing, Manchester’s Lowline follows Stone Roses’ early ethos, preferring to play in deserted warehouses instead of trendy venues. The quartet creates a shadowy, guitar-heavy sound that blurs the lines between rock and pop while musing on Manchester's darker aspects, like the city’s burgeoning violence and growing unemployment. The opening song, “Disko Killers,” levels distorted vintage guitar tones with a propulsive rhythm. Over an uncanny chemistry that recalls Echo & The Bunnymen, singer/guitarist Robbie Rush croons in cool deadpan inflections sounding somewhat similar to BRMC’s Peter Hayes. The bass-heavy “Monitors” rocks on a Rickenbacker-sounding jangle pumped through a cocktail of haunting reverb and spacy delay, as Rush sings with a restraint that gradually builds into a palpable tension. Hints of the mysterious middle ground between Joy Division and New Order simmer throughout “All Your Scars,” but these influences serve as old maps pointing at new destinations rather than a nostalgic crutch. “Outside” is a standout single that slaps new life into Madchester’s baggy past.