BLUELINE MEDIC – A Working Title In Green

2020 marks twenty years since Blueline Medic’s first release, A Working Title In Green. First released by Sony in Australia. During a Less Than Jake tour in Australia, Vinnie Fiorello was introduced to the band with a copy of the then unreleased ep. Having followed the band, and with their departure from Murmur (Sony) Vinnie (co owner of Fuelled by Ramen) soon signed the band to his label and had them on tour throughout the USA with Hot water Music, Small brown Bike, Samiam, the impossibles, Burning Airlines and Rival Schools. FBR would go onto signing the band for 3 records. Releasing the debut EP for the rest of the world, amplifying the excitement building and ready things for the band’s much beloved debut album The Apology Wars (2001) for the following year, then Text Bomb (2003) and compilation appearances.

Reissued on vinyl for the first time by Midnight Funeral in 2012.

The critically acclaimed young Melbourne band married introspective songwriting with unflinching energetic pop hooks on top a punk-rock foundation. Encompassing a variety of influences, including some gentle nods to past musical projects, the group eschewed stylistic traps with confidence. This would be both a blessing and curse.

At the time in 2000 it was very different landscape for music media and listening habits. Those unable to be easily “put into a box” could often leave an artist without press coverage, air-play, shelf-space, all of the above… But time has a way of cutting through the constraints and hang ups of the day, allowing what really matters to shine. An incredible debut EP which will undoubtedly continue to be celebrated for many more years to come.

Taken from the 2000 press release:

The simple intention of Blueline Medic’s music is to be overwhelming. “We hope that it’s an overload” explains vocalist guitarist Donnie Dureau. “We really like songs that take a while to grow, because you love them all the more, you work harder for for it”. Visually, aurally, physically, Blueline Medic’s debut EP A Working Title In Green is a storm of passionate confusion from beginning to end. The lyrics, welded to and fighting against richly textured guitar backdrops, immediately create an atmosphere filled with tension, tension that builds, swells and bends, but never lets go.

“The tension, that tense feel, I like having it.” says Dureau. “We don’t like experiencing it in everyday life, but we like having that intensity in the music”.