had the recent fortune of catching Melbourne band Ninetynine on their recent tour of New Zealand, and was actually rather impressed by their live performance. Playing live, they function as a tight but somewhat chaotic unit, and make a habit of switching instruments and focus on a regular basis. The band was formed as a touring-centric 4-piece built around vocalist / keyboard player Laura MacFarlane’s solo material, that has since grown to encompass the creative output of all 4 members, who are each active in the Melbourne avant pop scene.


The album documents the collective recorded output of Ninetynine over the formative years (1998-9), rather than being a cohesive album. The album itself is quite a departure from their live performance, which is nothing less than bizarre – mostly due to the antics of drummer / viola player Cameron Potts.


Live-- Potts displays energy seldom seen in modern musicians, he drums up a storm, shouting support phrases to his entourage as he works himself into frenzy. On the album, however, a lot of this energy is sorely missing, and it tends to fall back on the somewhat less dramatic presence of MacFarlane, whose somewhat calming vocals are almost in direct opposition to Potts’ dramatic style.


Comparisons to early Stereolab are valid, though distracting from Ninetynine’s true sound, they posses the ringing guitars, keyboard drones and somewhat monotone sugary female vocals, but lack latter-era Stereolab’s elaborate production and orchestral backing. They are a very competent band, though, songs like “Hemispheres” possessing a fine and carefree melody, backed by delicate vibraphone and Potts’ excellent drumming.


When taking a more eclectic approach (such as on “Cois il hamdu lilah”) the album appears far more vibrant and interest-worthy, but unfortunately this doesn’t carry the whole album. In fact some tracks even take a turn for the less professional. Potts’ vocal tracks “New Delhi” and “Song for Sally” seem to be little more than Casio-tone synthesizer lines with the uniform excellent drumming and rather uninspired vocals.


While pleasant enough though out, the album tends to drag towards the end and cries out for either the more in your face attitude they display as a live act, or the more aurally pleasing delivery of more laid-back shoe-gazer outfits. I’d look forward to seeing future releases though, as they now seem to be coming more together as a band since these earlier years, with concluding members Iain McIntyre and Monika Fikerle adding much greater variation to their sound. So, as it is, I’d advise to hold out till their first true album comes out, or attempt to catch their live show – which is certain to entertain.