The only complaint we have ever had about Mainland is that we don't get more of them. With individual members time taken up with other projects, always trying to capture the right audience as tastes change, the group only seem to be able to get together to produce a new album on a rather infrequent basis - but when they do, the result is always something special. They've been together now for well over 10 years, and have seen musical tastes change radically - but they remain at the cusp of good Rock-pop, even as their audience grows, shrinks and grows again with the times.

At the moment, "Starting over" is a test release to see how it is received. If you want a copy to judge for yourselves, drop the band a line and let them know. Mainland are, in their own words, deciding where to take their sound in the 21st century. To our ears, they haven't lost any of what makes them popular with their audience (See our previous review here on KlubKat), but are only too aware of the apathy with which the modern audience accepts new music. It almost seems as though a band can be judged by how "authentic" a cover track sounds, but that nobody wants to take a risk on an unknown voice...

There has been no change of crew since the last offering - Tim Warnes on drums, David Felmingham on keyboards, Andrew Smith on guitar and the whole group providing vocals. Jeanette Disney is still there with her striking voice, leading the pack. Although the group has remained the same, the sound remains in a state of exploration - something different in every release. If you have bought Mainlands previous albums, caught them live once or twice, or followed them avidly every time they surface since their conception, you won't be dissapointed with this new work. Let's see it released to a larger audience and we're sure it can only do well.

Mainland believe "Starting over" to be a grower. We don't agree - we think it kicks in on the very first play. Granted, it is sufficiently different from previous work to make an existing audience prick up their ears with curiosity and want to play it again to be sure of what they heard, but that's not a bad thing. This is as superb an album as anything that has come before it - it just needs a wider audience in which to be heard.

Go on Mainland, take a chance and give the world the opportunity to hear what you have to offer in the new Millennium. We know it'll find a niche. And to you, the audience, we strongly suggest a visit to the Mainland biography here and their previous review here to read all there is to know about this superb band.

And if you ever hear of them playing live, book yourselves a good night out. You won't regret it. We'll keep you updated on anything we hear from Mainland through the news page right here on KlubKat.