"A newcomer on the indie/emo rock scene and often lumped in with Christian emo artists like their label mates on Tooth and Nail, Ivoryline's music has grown a small but steady following since forming in 2005 in Tyler, TX. The band is composed of Jeremy Gray on vocals, Wes Hart on drums, Robert Woodward on bass and Dusty Kittle on guitar.After playing gigs part-time for a while, they earned enough of a reputation to be invited on the Vans Warped Tour. That launched the band's career, giving them crucial exposure to fans-and more importantly, record executives. Tooth and Nail, the label known for its roster of Christian emo rock, picked them up and issued their debut album, There Came a Lion, in 2008.The band's music is filled with the quixotic kind of lyrics typical for bands of their genre. ""Day's End,"" their debut's opening track, is a modern-day carpe diem screed.""Our complacency won't last much longer/An urgency will sweep, sweep, sweep/or sleep, sleep, sleeping hearts/Our complacency won't last much longer/An urgency will sweep/We should scream ""Thank you!""/with every waking breath/And cry ""Mercy! Mercy!"" at every day's end/Yet we remain quiet and comfortable in our A to B lives/We're so quiet and comfortable in our A to B lives,"" the lyrics for that track go. Considering the daily gratefulness and cries of mercy on display in this song, the band's Christian values seem pretty clear, though it's been debated whether they are a ""Christian band"" or not.On another song, ""Remind Me I'm Alive,"" the appeal of the band's songwriting stands out in its emotional appeals.""Now we see that everything we have/And everything we lack/Is exactly what we need/Every single day/Everything we've made/Has put us in this place in just this way,"" the lyrics go."
