Ready for the Dance

arineville are a Wellington, NZ, band with a fine pedigree. All their previous bands imploded - as so many great groups from undernourished scenes do (worldwide) - thus forces flung these 4+ guys together. The result? A mistily magical long-player with a flowing, easy pace. And A!C!E! guitars - oh, the guitars. Marineville's sound has many things going for it - subtle bass, spatial drumming, even a "drinking man's wail" - but it's the glorious guitar interplay which really makes them shine.

Their most successful songs are the less trad affairs, like the gentle/edgy "Hey Predator" - so delicate it's barely there, and the ridiculously overlong "Yoko Ono" wigout which closes the album. Elsewhere, occasionally things get a little overwrought, particularly when the plaintive vocals go into overdrive...

Looooooooooooooooove that accent though! Why don't all bands sing in their own accents anyway, instead of aping Noo Yoik drawls/ whatever's Cool This Week? Grrrr. But anyway...

Ultimately "Ready For The Dance" is worth tracking down, for all lovers of luscious guitar magic, with a glacial edge.

POSTED BY Mark ON 05 August 2002