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Philip Hayward. Music at the Borders: Not Drowning, Waving and Their Engagement with Papua New Guinean Culture (1986-96). Sydney: John Libbey, 1998. 216 pp. $29.95 Australia ($18.00 U.S.). (paperback).

Music at the Borders makes an important and timely contribution towards the documentation of the so-called "world beat" phenomenon, by providing a thorough and fascinating account of a cross-cultural popular music engagement between an Australian band (Not Drowning, Waving) and aspects of the culture of Papua New Guinea (PNG), the independent nation lying north of Australia in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. The book begins by tracing Not Drowning, Waving's development within the context of the Australian avant-garde rock scene of the 1970s and 1980s and discussing the band's audio-visual production style; then proceeds to document the cross-cultural engagement itself in detail (focusing in particular on the genesis of the Not Drowning, Waving and Tabaran albums) before ending with a "postscript" which examines developments since the release of the albums.

Hayward is able to contextualize the cultural collaborations by drawing on an impressive range of both primary and secondary sources --relating to both PNG history as well as the historical development of the Melbourne music scene, and the book provides compelling evidence of the insights which can be obtained by viewing music production as a complex cultural practice. Although Hayward acknowledges that "there is another book to be written, ideally by a Papuan New Guinean" (1)--given the need to approach Australian and PNG cultures in different ways--one of the book's strengths is its admirable balance between the presentation of Australian and PNG perspectives on the cultural engagement.

Hayward has an impressive grasp of the range of approaches employed within the area of popular music research, and his holistic approach is well-justified. It must be acknowledged that any researcher who attempts to provide in-depth analysis of such a broad range of areas (context, lyrical and musical content, visual aspects etc.) as covered in this book faces a formidable task, but Hayward is able to make perceptive observations about all of these elements. As a (dare I say it) popular musicologist, however, I feel that there is (at times) an over-reliance on textural analysis of the songs, as well as somewhat vague descriptive terminology (e.g., the "assaultive and angular quality" [124] of a guitar solo; "a more complex spacious sound" [51]). In favoring descriptive terminology over more "technical" terminology, Hayward's musical analyses tend to avoid discussion of other important elements (such as the preference for fourth and fifth harmonies which is a notable feature of many of the piano parts in Not Drowning Waving's musical arrangements).

Despite this small complaint, Music at the Borders is an impressive work which provides a valuable model for documenting the increasing numbers of cross-cultural collaborations which are appearing on the contemporary popular music landscape. Hayward, the editor of the Pacific music journal Perfect Beat, sees Music at the Borders as linked to "the project of promoting regional studies of regional forms" (199), and it refreshing to read about the work of highly creative but marginalised PNG musicians such as Telek and the band Sanguma. And, given the cultural sensitivities, issues of appropriation etc. which are inherent in cross-cultural collaborations of the type discussed in this book, it is also refreshing to read a text which attempts to strike a balance between conflicting viewpoints, rather than imposing a pre-conceived ideology upon historical events.

Jon Fitzgerald Southern Cross University Lismore, Australia