by: Anthony Violanti, page C1

The shadow of Natalie Merchant has finally been lifted from 10,000 Maniacs. Today, with the release of a new album, the band has crafted a new identity guided by the voice of Mary Ramsey.

Love Among the Ruins (Geffen 25009) is the Maniacs' first release since Merchant departed the Jamestown group nearly four years ago.

Merchant was the central figure, singer and songwriter for a band that pioneered alternative music during the 1980s.

The Maniacs sold more than 6 million albums before Merchant moved on to a successful solo career. Ramsey now fills her shoes, along with guitarist/songwriter John Lombardo, an original Maniac who left the group in 1986.

Ramsey and Lombardo join a collection of accomplished musicians: Rob Buck, guitar; Dennis Drew, keyboards; Steven Gustafson, bass, and Jerome Augustyniak on drums.

Love Among the Ruins is a lilting, delicate album featuring tight musical backing for Ramsey's maturing vocals. Ramsey is a classically trained musician who plays the viola, but now she's in front of the microphone and under the spotlight with a band brimming with history and accomplishment.

"We spent a lot of time getting to know each other and playing together," Ramsey said last week. "It feels natural now. I feel comfortable."

Ramsey flashes her new-found vocal confidence on More Than This, a cover of an old Roxy Music song that is the first single off the album. It's a gentle, beguiling number with her soothing voice floating over a dreamy, pop sound.

Ramsey takes center stage on more lite alternative numbers such as Rainy Day and Love Among the Ruins. Both those songs are vintage Maniacs, with Buck's guitar providing the energy to Ramsey's pliable vocals.

Ramsey and Lombardo performed as a duo during the early '90s, so joining the Maniacs was a natural progression. Ramsey has been practicing and touring with the band for the past two years. She also played viola with the Maniacs on previous albums.

"I've known Natalie and the band a long time, and John and I felt like we were almost cousins to the Maniacs," Ramsey said. She is aware of the group's storied history but tries to put a new stamp on the Maniacs sound.

"I tried not to focus too much on the past so we could focus on what's happening now," Ramsey said. "There's always transition when people leave. The fact that Natalie left and John and I joined means the Maniacs will never be exactly the same.

"Music is a very individual thing. It's a magical, special gift. That's how we feel about this record. This is the way the 10,000 Maniacs sound now."

It's a smooth, sometimes too mellow sound. Girl on a Train, Even With My Eyes Closed and A Room for Everything are so tender and quiet, one almost longs for Buck to juice up the amps, inject some noise and rock out.

The Maniacs, however, are reaching for depth on this album. Overall, it works for a group aiming for an adult audience.

Lyrics such as "Seasons pass/like sand in a glass/and nothing, nothing returns" evoke a sense of longing. Other songs touch on loss and nostalgia. Maybe that's because this is a band sorting out its past and coming to terms with its present and future.

Regardless, the 10,000 Maniacs rekindled something special with Ramsey and Lombardo, who said returning to the group was like "coming back to a family."

Ramsey found something just as meaningful, and her influence and talent shows on the hard-driving Big Star. Ramsey provides a radiant vocal on Shining Light, and another number, Across the Fields, shows the folk and classical influence of John and Mary's best work as a duo.

"I hope the album does well, but what I really hope for is to be able to continue to make music," Ramsey said. "It's part of my nature. I'm aligned with the musical muses. There's no way I can stop."