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THE REVIEW
History repeats itself! A band of eighteen-year-olds releases a couple of singles and the press bows at their feet. How to remain objective and not find yourself in the midst of the flock praising the new champions of music? The method is very simple. It's the same one you use when you record the sporting event of the year, unable to watch it live, and cut yourself off from the world to avoid knowing the result in advance. So, CD spinning in the player and newspapers, televisions, and radios miles away. The minute and a half of the opening track aims to make one thing clear: in this album, you will find nothing new, nothing that hasn't already been written in the rock of the '90s. What remains to be understood is the way the quotations are made. "Highly Evolved," "Outthataway," "Get Free," and "In The Jungle" are an interesting mix between the anger of Nirvana and the lightheartedness of the early Supergrass. "Autumn Shade," "Country Yard," and "Homesick" are ballads that a few years ago Noel Gallagher armed with an acoustic guitar could have written with his eyes closed, but which from "Be Here Now" onwards seem to be part of his illustrious past. Particular mention should be made of "Factory," a piece that would find a worthy place in Blur's "Parklife." If you've forgotten what the '90s produced, this is the album for you as it retraces with freshness and intelligent inspirations a decade of guitar bands. Nonetheless, there remains the hope that The Vines from this point onwards will show greater interest in the roots of rock to which Oasis and company owe their fortune. In a few words, don't call them the new Strokes; the Americans started studying from the first chapters of music history.
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Summary by Bot
The review presents The Vines' debut album Highly Evolved as a well-crafted homage to 1990s rock. While the album offers no groundbreaking innovation, it successfully channels the spirit of bands like Nirvana, Supergrass, Oasis, and Blur. The mix of energetic rockers and melodic ballads reflects past influences with fresh inspiration. The reviewer hopes the band will dive deeper into rock's roots in future works.
The Vines
The Vines are an Australian rock band from Sydney, frequently characterized (in these reviews and broadly in public discussion) by a blend of '60s-leaning pop/psychedelia and '90s grunge abrasiveness, fronted by Craig Nicholls.15 Reviews
Other reviews
By hammondjr
The entire album, at least until 'Get Free,' the best track in my opinion, proceeds with this 'undulating' pace.
Simplicity is the prerogative of The Vines and manifests through the elementary riffs of the guitarists, the timing and fills of Hamish Rosser, and the voice of their leader.
By Roberto De Filippis
It was the album itself that overwhelmed me with its verve out of the ordinary, with its grit, enjoyable to the nth degree because it’s not the result of carelessness or overdoing it, but of great compositional maturity.
Why penalize artists who have managed to synthesize the best of the last forty years of pop-rock in such a wise and personal way?
By fostermock
"It was nothing innovative or particularly brilliant; it could have been made by any other budding Anglo-Saxon indie band."
"Don’t believe the hype... 3/5 anyway."
