It's been a difficult year or so for The Vines. Their lead singer, Craig Nicholls, was in the news for all the wrong reasons. On stage bust-ups and the trashing of a studio on Jay Leno's late night chat show; the band were almost ready to self destruct.
But somehow they're still with us. Under the supervision of producer Rob Schnapf, The Vines have managed to scramble out Winning Days, somewhat Highly Evolved V2.
The Vines' first album, Highly Evolved is a lush Garage-Psych Rock album that was hyped in some quarters as an album that echoes the greatness of Nirvana. You had the quick, snappy songs of Outtathaway and Get Free, plus you had the lush, psychedelic slow burner tracks of Mary Jane and Autumn Shade.
Winning Days follows the same blueprint as Highly Evolved, to a somewhat less successful outcome. The first song on the album, and first single, Ride is a radio friendly rocker that will sure to have some good airplay. The track is nothing special, but it's a good start to an album nonetheless
TV Pro is typical psychedelic rock-out Vines. Autumn Shade II, like it's father is a slow track with a lush, progressing melody. The best track on the album by a long way, Winning Days is a brilliant mid-tempo rocker moving in and out of musical consciousness.
Other than those four tracks that I've mentioned, there are no other standout tracks. Tracks like Amnesia and Sun Child come off as middle of the road rockers that would have better off been used as B-Sides. But then you get the feeling that the album would only then contain eight or so tracks.
The album's last track, Fuck The World is a in your face rocker, but unlike the song's title, it's almost lukewarm in attitude. The Vines have been playing this track live for a while, and has somewhat gained a mythical status as a Godlike rocker. But from listening to Fuck The World, you end up wondering what was the fuss all about. There's no real bite in the song. Craig Nicholls tries to sing violently, but his voice just ends up screeching so loud that you would mistake his vocals to be Luke Jenner's of the The Rapture.
Overall, the album is a disappointment. If you loved Highly Evolved, you'll like Winning Days, but don't expect to listen to Winning Days as much as it's parent album.
I felt that the focus of the album was lost. The beauty of Highly Evolved was the slower, psychedelic tracks like Mary Jane, Autumn Shade. On Winning Days The Vines are unable to re-create the sound of the slower tracks successfully. Even Autumn Shade II doesn't hold the majesty of it's father track.
I had high hopes for The Vines this year. Highly Evolved showed that The Vines had potential. I've had a liking for their psychedelic sound, but it seems that the problems they've had has overshadowed the music. Unfortunately, The Vines aren't in Winning Days.
Verdict: A disappointing album from The Vines. Where they will go on from now on will be anybody guess.
5
