Lipline bare their teeth on Fifth Ave, a shredding new rock single that marks the Queensland band’s official arrival.
Gold Coast band Lipline have released their latest single, a rapid-fire explosion of riffs titled Fifth Ave. Opening with grungy guitar strums and the rhythmic click of drum sticks, the single is carried by a frenetic vocal performance courtesy of Cooper Lowe, who flits between sneers and melodies with finesse.
While the raw and at times soaring vocals are a major drawcard of Fifth Ave — which later includes choral sing-along moments — Lipline are equally concerned with the track’s instrumentation.
Roaring by on a cacophony of 90s-indebted guitar licks and shredding electric solos, the band’s confidence in their craft is tangible from the outset.
All the staples of heavy rock are there, as Lipline draw upon a diverse range of their rock contemporaries. There’s glimmers of Silverchair within Fifth Ave’s distorted tones and heavy-hitting drum fills, while the stylings of Jimi Hendrix are heard on Pat Anning’s scene-stealing guitar moments.
While it’d be easy for Lipline to subscribe solely to this sound, the band are clearly defiant of genre labels. So broad is the group’s palette that at any given point on the Fifth Ave, you could cite a range of diverse stylings that Lipline would clearly excel within.
From the surf rock feel of the vocals to the 70s psychedelia that courses throughout the solo, Lipline aren’t about to be boxed in by any one genre, which makes for an infinitely engaging listen.
To top it all off, Fifth Ave also makes room for incisive lyricism, as the band reflect on unshakable bad habits and reverting to past behaviours. Fifth Ave adds to what feels like a breakout moment for Lipline, who received airplay of triple j for the new single.
Elsewhere, the band — also comprised of bassist Mason Lowe and drummer Darcy Littlechild — shared the single Golden Pocket in February, after making their debut with Glow Worms in 2022.
Listen to Lipline’s new single Fifth Ave below.
