A bit of history:
Jon McLeary (guitar, vocals, songs) formed the Spines in 1981 in Wellington with Caroline Easther (drums) and Rob Mahoney (bass). They recorded “Fishing” for Ripper Records and appeared on Radio With Pictures that same year. A change in line-up to Ross Burge (drums), Neill Duncan (sax) and Wendy Calder (bass) saw them go on to record albums for Jayrem (The Moon, Your Body Stays, Act Your Age) and Flying Nun (Idiot Sun). This version toured the country and lasted into the late 1980’s.
In the 1990’s Andy Craig joined on bass and Ant Donaldson on drums and continued the Spines tradition playing McLeary’s unique songs live and in the studio.
They continued on into this century with Les Knight on bass and various drummers including Riki Gooch and recorded the album Blood Monster.
The current Spines line-up has been together several years with Jon is Les Knight on bass, Hannah Fraser on violin, keys and vocals and Malky James Taylor on drums.
The Spines album Dreamboat was released in 2019.
Riki Gooch played all the drum tracks and Les Knight the bass parts then Hannah Fraser, her piano and violin and Jon guitars.
Queen of the Rain
The new release from a band that’s been around for 43 years. And the third album from this current lineup of Jon McLeary, Hannah Fraser, Les Knight and Malky Taylor with help from Tim Robinson on extra percussion.
McLeary’s songs are the key factor to the bands longevity. They continue to have relevance and are evolving all the time along with the band’s stage presence.
The Queen of the Rain songs are all elemental and/or emotional little stories that link up backwards and are a fine addition to the Spines cannon.