Formed in late 2007, Dublin-based five-piece Lines Drawing Circles' debut self titled EP presents three tracks layered with astringent rock sounds and authentic rawness. Powerfully opening with Lull's gritty plucked electric guitars, distortion and distant echoing harmonies, the soft lead vocals are reminiscent of The Bluetones' Mark Morris until reaching breaking point where they start to resemble the volatility of Muse's Matt Bellamy. 108's minimal approach and slow build falsely subdue before briefly revealing a vigorous antagonism which quickly dies away again. Though they describe themselves as "progressive pop with a fondness for loud noise," overall the EP can be characterised by an air of bitterness, with only I Won't Let It Keep Me's shroud of subtle optimism and romantic piano accounting for any employment of the term "pop" here. With an aptitude for building climaxes, Lines Drawing Circles offer an intelligently arranged debut, independently released and available at www.linesdrawingcircles.com