Prescribed Fires is the third full-length album from Midwestern alt-rock band, The City Lines. Produced and mixed in Los Angeles by Jon Graber (NOFX, mgk) and Brandon Benson (We Are the Union, Lingying), this latest collection is a major step forward for the group in both sonic fidelity and focused songwriting. Here, the punk-infused energy of past efforts meets "no words wasted" storytelling for an overall experience that immediately engages while rewarding repeat listens.
Relevant and urgent, this record reflects the concerns of modern parents, doing their best to raise kids with lost heritage worth restoring and toxic cycles worth breaking. The songs look back to better our present and their future, tackling issues of broken bonds, unfulfilled dreams, climate catastrophe, mental health, coping mechanisms, and more. As an environmental stewardship tactic, prescribed fire is the practice of destroying what you must so that new life can thrive. As an album, Prescribed Fires sets out to do the same.
“This album is a wonderful amalgam of bristling pop punk with lush and thoughtful songwriting. Added to this potent combination are deeply reflective lyrical stories. Using a palette colored with ash, smoke, fire, and water, the music transcends the typically tepid ruminations of pop music. It isn’t every day that you come across songs with this much heart. If you are a fan of the joyous energy found in the music of Blink 182 and Green Day, combined with the introspective song craft of The Replacements, then you will surely dig The City Lines.”
-Chuck Marshall (Life in Michigan)
Ann Arbor Alt-Rock
(Michigan's finest Dads-who-go-to-therapy core)
The City Lines is, at its heart, the collected stories of singer / guitarist / father / firefighter PAT DENEAU (Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), edited and amplified by drummer / father / environmentalist BOB ZAMMIT.
Live, the band features JOHNNY SCOTT (of Good Man's Brother) on lead guitar & VICTORIA (of TOADALLY) on bass.
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Jeff Milo (WDET) // "It’s never been a competition, but if there were one for most endearing band in Michigan, it might be The City Lines! I say “endearing,” but I also mean charismatic in an unapologetically kind and wholesome and down-to-earth sort of way. Oh, and they can also rip: this is a band that blends power-pop melodies with gritty punk rock distortion and propulsive tempos, laced with lyrics that can, yes, be inspiring and heartwarming, but also cut-in with serious social commentary, reflections on life, and poignant self-revelations."
Christopher Porter (A2Pulp) // "...ultra-catchy songs, which evoke the 1990s power-pop-punk boom with a Midwestern twist."
Jeremy Porter (Pencil Storm) // "...upbeat, optimistic powerpop that falls somewhere between 90s pop-punk and Westerbergian heart-on-sleeve bar rockers. Fans of The Gaslight Anthem, The Replacements, and Blink 182 should take note."
2026 Michigan Climate Summit
// Michigan Climate Action Network //
Thanks to the team at MiCAN for choosing to include "Wildfire Skies" in the Art/Poetry/Song gallery at their annual gathering, and thanks to our friends Kat Steih & Rob Luzynski for bringing a song and a message we care about so deeply to life in such an incredible way.
