by: Helen A.S. Popkin (section: Weekend page: 19)

Natalie Merchant does not enjoy giving interviews.

But as the ethereal singer/songwriter fronting 10,000 Maniacs, she knows they're in her job description, and so she relents, with a sigh. Along with endless tour bus rides and business dealings, interviews are one of the more tedious duties accompanying pop stardom that caused Natalie and the rest of the Maniacs to take a solid year off.

Since The Wishing Chair, 10,000 Maniacs' 1985 debut, the band has toured constantly. In My Tribe (1987) brought national attention with its arty video for the single Like the Weather, which received constant airplay on MTV and VH-I. Merchant emerged as a poet for the ills of society with Blind Man's Zoo (1989) dealing sharply with racism, poverty and the environment.

But by this time, the band had already begun to grow apart. Merchant says that she was losing interest in performing, losing interest in music. Time off gave them time to think.

"When we got back together, we had a lot of time to reflect on what we did for a living" she said in a recent phone interview from California. "All the petty moaning we did on touring just evaporated."

Our Time in Eden marks the end of the band's hiatus. The moody chronicle of evocative folk pop is full of shiny melodies and brooding lyrics that search for one's place in the big wide world. When Merchant and the rest of the Maniacs - Rob Buck (guitar), Dennis Drew (keyboards), Steve Gustafson (bass) and Jerome Augustyniak - reunited, they had a better understanding of each other.

"We just decided to remove our egos a bit from song writing and cooperate a bit more," says Merchant. "That's one of the main things that helped us write a better record. People weren't so possessive of song ideas."

Several members of the band used the time off to buy houses and get married. Keyboardist Drew welcomed a baby to his family, which affected everyone in the band. "Being in a pop group is perpetual adolescence," says Merchant. "Our job is enjoying ourselves. You have to fight to be an adult in this business. A baby is a very physical manifestation of time passages, aging and physical responsibility."

Merchant used the time off to travel in Europe and South Africa as well as working at a homeless shelter and a day-care center. She says it was good to get away from music, but she is looking forward to performing again. "We've had some of our best performances so far because of the break," she says.