Magneta Lane - Gambling with God
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Gambling with God is the third collection of songs from the all-girl Canadian trio, Magneta Lane. They originally conceived the idea to start a band while backstage at a concert even though the (four at first, but eventually three) girls were fresh out of high school with no musical experience. Roughly a year later they put out The Constant Lover, a raw – though surprisingly impressive – six-song EP that was easily one of the best releases of 2004. In the subsequent two years of touring around Canada, Nadia King worked on her drumming enough to surpass Meg White in skill and Magneta Lane released a more refined full-length album, Dancing with Daggers. For some reason, despite the more polished sound – on an album that was probably one of the top five of 2006 – the band just hasn’t gained the recognition that they deserve.
Lexi Valentine’s luxuriously smooth retro-style vocals are the defining characteristic of the band and this album is in the same musical vein as their previous releases. She doesn’t really sound much like any of them at all, but Valentine is frequently compared to half a dozen different female singers – though she really sounds more like a Zooey Deschanel that has traded in all her “cute” for “sultry” and no longer holds back at the microphone. Most of Gambling with God is above average – “House Of Mirrors” and “Love and Greed” are the standouts – and “September Came,” with its slower tempo, is the biggest departure from the usual style of the band. The only weak links are “Castles,” “Queen of Hearts” and the title track.
- Score
- 92%
There have been some great bands coming out of Canada lately and Magneta Lane has got to be one of the most overlooked. Maybe the label switch from Paper Bag Records (home to the prematurely defunct controller.controller) to Last Gang Records (where they are now labelmates with Metric) will be the impetus for the next phase of the band’s evolution. Based on their past efforts, Gambling with God feels like a natural progression for the band, but it will be difficult to top this album without learning some new tricks for the next one.
