I was already a fan of Old Lines before this release. To Build a Fire only increased my appreciation for the band. I dig the band’s riffs, tight song structures, strong political lyrics, and the ferocious intensity of their delivery, both live and on recording. Investigative journalist Will Potter is a TED Fellow, and the award winning author of Green Is the New Red, a book which explores how the government increasingly treats animal rights and environmental activists as terrorists. To Build a Fire is less of a split and more of a collaboration. Old Lines shreds two classics in the vein of what I’ve come to love them for, and Potter delivers two rousing spoken word pieces that will make listeners pause. Side A opens with “Hypothermia” by Old Lines, and leads seamlessly into Potter’s “Paradoxical Undressing.” Each piece reflects the other in theme and subject matter, showing the closeness with which Potter and the band worked. The two pieces address government surveillance and the steady chilling of free speech in the United States. Side B opens with Potter’s “Compassion Fatigue,” which addresses the helplessness many social justice activists—myself included—have felt at times, but Potter turns the story around into an unexpected call to action. Old Lines’ track “You Lie Like a Corpse,” follows and kicks up the intensity. The lyrics and title play on a quote from Potter’s piece. The emotional impact of the two together will give you goose bumps. Punks everywhere need to hear this record not just because it’s so damn catchy, but because the message is so important. –Paul J. Comeau (Life Advice, lifeadvicerecords.com)