It
was in their tousled hair, their disaffected expressions,
their (self-consciously) unstable live performances.
The Vines had it. They were flavour of the month
- appearing on David Letterman and reaching covers
of NME and Rolling Stone. It appears,
though, that the hype has moved on to the likes
of The D4 and The Datsuns. Now, The Vines must stand
on their own two feet and, more specifically, on
their debut Highly Evolved.
This
is certainly a strong debut, but it is not enough
to warrant favourable comparisons with The Beatles
or Nirvana, nor should it earn The Vines the tag
of saviours of rock. If anything, most songs come
off merely as convincing imitations of the aforementioned
bands. The Vines are not innovators. Their first
three singles - the 90-second bluster of "Highly
Evolved", aggressive second single "Get Free" and
the chaos of "Outtathaway" - are exhilarating rock
songs built upon power chords, fast tempos and Craig
Nicholls's excitable vocals. Nothing new to be found
here though.
Worse
still, the rest of Highly Evolved fails to
deliver anything else as energetic or passionate.
The album is clogged with tedious songs reminiscent
of Lennon circa-Revolver - all drawling vocals and
lilting rhythms. However, as stylistically faithful
as "Autumn Shade" and "Country Yard" are, they seem
insincere and are dull. The hypnotic piano on "Homesick"
is better, but Nicholls still appears disingenuous.
Only "Mary Jane" makes a lasting impression - the
impassioned cries for this "Mary Jane" are as evocative
as they are addictive.
The
Vines must get credit for trying to mix things up
- cue the reggae of "Factory" - but their attempts
at variety usually fail. Final track "1969" is simply
dirge masquerading as an epic. Unfortunately, Highly
Evolved, like their live set, is built around
their trio of singles. It is a patchy debut that
shows The Vines are expert only with the three-minute
fizzing rock song. Even then, they need to be forgiven
for providing something entirely unoriginal.
Tracklisting:
1.
Highly Evolved
2. Autumn Shade
3. Outtathaway
4. Sunshinin
5. Homesick
6. Get Free
7. Country Yard
8. Factory
9. In The Jungle
10. Mary Jane
11. Ain't No Room
12. 1969
Reviewed
by Michael Tran
