1 2 3 4 5
Reviewed for The Dwarf...

Minuit have been playing their dance-pop electronica in New Zealand for over a decade now and with this their third album they have come of age musically. In saying that, not everything works on this record.

First single Wayho is a promising start with its bouncing buzzing bass and off beat toms. Singer Ruth Carr intones “which way, which way, this way…’ in a nursery rhyme way and it is a cute and bubbly start to the album. From there things just get a little too cute. The twinkling synths and Carr’s sing-song vocals start to wear thin very quickly.

Queen Of The Flies is an exception with a darker and less ebullient mood. It creaks and warbles nicely and is closer to Moloko or Lamb territory with its quirky character driven approach. Maserati also works because it takes itself seriously. The slow phased drums and heavy pace impress.

Surprisingly an acoustic guitar appears on Vampires and the song takes a decidedly Sinead O’Connor direction and shows the band roots of Minuit. Unfortunately the beats and retro synths return all to quickly on Daddy-O and the throwaway Long Live Zero.

Where Minuit succeed is the moments when they pull back from the upbeat circus antics and focus on Carr’s delicate voice. She can shift between Frente cuteness to Bjork and Goldfrapp quirk and sassiness. The final track Everyone From Everywhere shows they can write a beautiful song in under 2 minutes and leaves you itching to hear more in that vein.

Though they show they can entertain the dancefloor as well as the lounge at home, they have perhaps bitten off too much with this near hour long record. They are still looking for the key to their sound but they are getting closer and closer and in the meantime this album deserves to see them do well on the UK scene where they should go down a storm.