By: Trubie Turner
The first single from the forthcoming The Much Needed Second Cold War, Disease is an appetizer that leaves you wanting something to get the taste of it out of your mouth.Marina Siertis, a Swedish goth rock trio with some electronic leanings, on the cusp of the release of their new album, has attempted to whet our appetites with the single Disease, a four track CD containing 3 versions of the song "Disease" and the "B-side" "I Never Went to the English Beach House." Marina Siertis favors the generally more minimalist style of goth rock similar to some of the work of Bauhaus, but that's about as far as the comparison goes.

The biggest weaknesses of the three versions of "Disease" are the songwriting and the vocals. The overly simplistic songwriting is just very cookie cutter and uninspired, leaving Marina Siertis with no real voice of their own. Meanwhile, the actual voice of the band ranges from acceptable to cringe inducing. Even after repeatedly listening to the various versions of "Disease," the opening lines of the song still manage to produce a wince. Once the first chorus hits, the song becomes more palatable, but getting to that point can feel like an eternity. Of the three versions of "Disease," the single version is first. Featuring a bit more of a club friendly beat than the original version, this is the strongest version of the song residing on this single. Ironically, the third and weakest version of the track, the "Mad Club Mix" is the least club friendly due to an overly long build for a club track, and an overall dearth of anything at all interesting or entertaining to keep people on the dance floor interested. "I Never Went to the English Beach House" is actually the best track of the single. The vocal work featured on it is much better than the work experienced on "Disease," and the song structure is much more tight and interesting.

While the various versions of "Disease" are on the whole somewhat disappointing, "I Never Went to the English Beach House" is strong enough of a track to still inspire hope in the upcoming album. If "Disease" does end up just being a fluke bad song, it shows the band has a much more unfortunate weakness; they are bad at selecting a track to use for a single.

I recently received the new single from the Swedish band Marina Siertis. The single is called Disease. Its the first single from their upcoming album “The Much Needed Second Cold War”. Having not heard much of this group before I was very interested as to what the new album would sound like. The single itself is a dark masterpiece reminding me of a more industrial Depeche Mode. The B side track “I Never Went To The English Beach House” is a beautiful track where the newly added guitarist to the band makes a great impression.

The album “The Much Needed Second Cold War” is scheduled for release early in 2007 so all we can do is wait to see what it will be like. Going on the single, if you are into your darker electro this is definitely a release to look out for.