Margins

Melbourne instrumental four-piece Margins present their second full-length album, Divide. Following from 2008’s acclaimed self-titled debut, Divide sees the band continue to enact a spacious and sublime style of instrumentation. Having honed their live performances accompanying an eclectic range of projected films; from Jess Franco to Return of the Jedi, Margins embrace subtlety and restraint as their modus operandi, challenging assumptions that a band must near explode to make an impact. As its title may suggest, Divide was written in a variety of different spaces. Some unlikely, such as a disused television studio, others personal, lounge rooms, sheds and patios creating a pre-lived in mood. Other spaces, including the recording studio itself, invoke and engage the raw nerve of improvisation. Indeed much of Divide is experiment in motion, the live nature of the recording allowing the band to write and perform simultaneously, whilst choosing between numerous unique versions of each song. The final cuts allow the listener to enter the band's world; nothing is hidden here – mistakes and once-off magic are all present, including the squeaking of chairs and shuffling of feet. Rather than retreat from peripheral sounds traditionally outlawed, Margins offer themselves up to be interpreted on the listener's terms. There is also new territory to be explored, including maidenly haunting vocals from Jess Cornelius (Teeth and Tongue), drums and percussion by Dan McKay (The Nation Blue), swirling lap steel by Chris Rainier and keys reduced to hypnotic wash from the deftly understated Matt Bailey. Added to this are acoustic guitars, unobtrusive loops, glockenspiel and aquatic shades of ambient sound. Divide presents a series of atmospheres and aural landscapes that united carry the listener to a highly personal and ultimately unique destination. This is a soundtrack for thought, relaxation, inspiration and space. Margins will not force you to love them; they will not pummel you into submission. You need not belong to a scene nor possess knowledge of their musical peers in order to be immersed. Margins' tact is wholly different. Their music exists quite contentedly outside of genre and refuses to comply with time or trend. Chill