Ninetynine

Ninetynine were originally a solo project for Laura MacFarlane (Sleater-Kinney's original drummer), but it blossomed into a full-blown band in 1997, just as their second album appeared. Their sound is a little bit different from the typical indie-pop archetype because they integrate vibes, keyboards and guitars into something that couldn't be described as one-dimensional. It does seem, however, that Ninetynine are not a band to give away their best material to the many compilations and singles they've released during the past five years, and that translates into quite a few second rate songs that maybe shouldn't have reached the light of day. Yet there are a few minor gems that do deserve your attention, such as album outtake "180 Degrees" and their cover of "Bring On The Dancing Horses‚" which originally appeared on Endearing's Pretty In Pop compilation. Whether you want to hear their version of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" after you've laughed your way through it once is another matter altogether. Anatomy Of Distance isn't the best place to start discovering Ninetynine, because of its uneven nature, but it does at least indicate that the band is capable of a whole lot more.