[1] While touring in support of that release, vocalist Derek Sanders thought the group was "beginning to become too predictable",[2] and in an interview with Kerrang!, he claimed that Monsters in the Closest sounded "very similar" to their past material.

"[2] A turning point for the band came when they recorded a cover of the Bush song "Comedown" for the Punk Goes 90s Vol.

[2] While the group, according to Garcia, "experiment[ed] with co-writers" in the past, they wanted to "become more internal",[3] writing all of the songs on Black Lines by themselves.

[4] Claudius Mittendorfer and Sapone engineered the proceedings, with assistance from Zachary Casper and Bella Blasks.

[4] On July 17, 2015, Black Lines was announced for release, with the track listing and cover art revealed.

[23][nb 1] In October and November, the band is set to headline the 2015 edition of the Alternative Press tour,[17] with support from Real Friends, As It Is, and This Wild Life.

[25] In January and February 2016, the band went on a tour of Europe and the UK,[26] with support from the Maine, Have Mercy and Beautiful Bodies.

[29] Before embarking on the 2016 Warped Tour,[30] a music video was released for "Let's Be Honest" on June 24, directed by Dan Fusselman.

wrote the album highlighted the band's "absolute best bits", specifically mentioning "Hollow", "Underneath the Tide" and "All on Me".

"[39] Writing for Rock Sound, Mischa Pearlman wrote the band showed off "their versatility [...] to varying degrees of success.

"[6] In some songs, such as "One of Them Will Destroy the Other" and "Keep in Mind, Transmogrification Is a New Technology", the group "cruise[d] comfortably [...] in full-on emo-pop mode.

"[6] Overall, Pearlman closed with mention this "all makes for an ultimately uneven and unfocused journey, but one still worth investigating".