Town Line is the first EP by Staind

Staind

Staind is an American rock band that was formed in 1995 in Springfield, Massachusetts. For 16 years, the band consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April, and drummer Jon Wysocki...

 frontman Aaron Lewis

Aaron Lewis

Aaron Lewis, , is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and founding member of the rock group Staind, with whom he has released seven studio albums. He has since ventured into country music with his debut solo album, Town Line...

. An extended play

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 consisting of country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 songs, it was released on March 1, 2011 on Stroudavarious Records

Stroudavarious Records

R&J Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in May 2011 by James Stroud and Rick Carter. Stroud is a record producer and former president of Giant Records and DreamWorks Records. In 2008, Stroud had launched Stroudavarious Records and signed...

. As of the chart dated July 16, 2011, the album has sold 173,544 copies in the US.

Content

The first single, "Country Boy," which features George Jones

George Jones

George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....

, Charlie Daniels

Charlie Daniels

Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...

, and Chris Young, was released on December 7, 2010. This song has charted on both Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 and Rock Songs

Rock Songs

Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...

. The track "Tangled Up in You" is a re-recording of a song from Staind's album The Illusion of Progress

The Illusion of Progress

-Bonus tracks:# "It's Been Awhile" – 4:49 [Limited edition]# "Devil" – 5:18 [Limited edition]...

.

Critical reception

Giving it three stars out of five, Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly

Country Weekly

Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...

thought that the songs were "rich with imagery." She also praised Lewis for "resist[ing] the temptation to don a faux twang", but criticized the single "Country Boy" as "an unfortunately overextended string of rural impressions." Sam Gazdziak of The 9513 rated it two stars out of five, calling "Country Boy" "turgid" and "polarizing", also criticizing the three versions present on the EP. His review criticized most of the songs for their themes, but praised "Vicious Circles" and "Tangled Up in You" by saying that they "don’t sound like Lewis was working off of a checklist of things that belong in country music[…]and they end up being the best two of the bunch."

Track listing

Personnel

• Aaron Lewis – vocals, acoustic guitar
• Mike Mushok – lead guitar
• Johnny April – bass guitar
• Jon Wysocki – drums

Album

Chart (2011)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	7
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	1
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums	3
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums	3

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	US Country	US Main	US Rock Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...
2011	"Country Boy" (with George Jones George Jones George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....  and Charlie Daniels Charlie Daniels Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer... )	87	50	23	39