THE VINES

Nirvana. Why do people still listen to Nirvana? Ten years on, you would have thought people have gotten over it by now. Alas, no. I saw the Vines live a few months ago, before this album came out, and the general word on the street was that they were a good band but comparing them with Nirvana was just too much for them to live up to. After the gig I remember thinking: "Too much to live up to? Hell, they're even better!" And I carried that happy thought with me until I purchased this album. I think generally they were better live than on record because their sound was much rawer (again this is another over-produced affair) but also because frontman Craig Nicholls has a magnetic stage presence, a bona fide rock'n'roll star in the making. Unfortunately, he is obsessed with Nirvana. To be fair, this is a really good album and if this review seems overly critical it is only because I expected a much better one. The songs are all well written, well arranged affairs but the overwhelming feeling of neutrality permeates throughout the overall album. This simply feels like a rock album, nothing particularly exciting, just professionally executed. Forty years of rock music condensed into one nice package. Now I know people whinge on and on and on about the Strokes being utterly derivative but they at least don't sound exactly like another band. I mean people go on about the Ramones, Velvet Underground, Television, etc. but they don't sound exactly like any of those bands (even if Casablancas does sing like Lou Reed). The songs on this album, however, are far more obviously derivative. The likes of "Highly Evolved" and "Get Free" are Nirvana by another name. And the melodies of the likes of "Homesick" and "Country Yard" are homages to (if not entirely rip-offs of) the Beatles' and Kinks' sixties pop. Besides which, there are some direct rip-offs (or at least soundalikes) that I've picked out. "Factory" is the "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" of the record with a silly reggae-esque beat, essentially the same melody as the Beatles' "classic" but with a stupidly contrived grunge chorus. Similarly, the intros to "Outtathaway" and "In the Jungle" are both remarkably similar to a couple of arena rock numbers. The distorted guitars and thumping drums that open "Outtathaway" sound JUST like the Van Halen instrumental "Intruder" from Diver Down (if you've got both albums, please compare, and then send me words of praise for having such an astute ear). More audaciously, for "In the Jungle" you half expect to hear Blue Oyster Cult's harmonies over the guitar riff, "borrowed" from "Don't Fear the Reaper". When all is said and done, however, this might be completely derivative but at least it is done really well. "Highly Evolved", "Outtathaway" and "Get Free" are all perfectly commercial grunge numbers with a more satisfyingly upbeat rhythm than Cobain ever attempted. Only "Get Free" really hints at Nicholls' idol's melancholy and even then it is energetic and aggressive enough to match the highlights of "Bleach" (Nirvana's only enjoyable album). Actually I'd wager "Get Free" is probably the best track on the album. Similarly, the slow, acoustic numbers "Homesick" and "Country Yard", whilst being more than a little similar to the Beatles in feel, both have great melodies and nice harmonising (particularly for the chorus of "Country Yard"). The album ends on an upbeat note with the vibrant "Ain't No Room" (perhaps a future favourite of mine, I've yet to decide) and the classic rock influenced "1969". "1969", although borrowing a title from the Stooges, has a far bigger riff than they ever attempted and it also stretches out at the end into an interesting, psychedelic finale. Indeed, the final track is probably the most ambitious and intriguing song on the whole album. All in all, the album is an exercise in well-written rock songs without ever exceeding expectations or exploring new ideas. And the fact of the matter is new bands should just stop listening to Nirvana. That ain't doing anyone any good.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk