The Vines
Melodia

After the disappointment of "Vision Valley," the quartet from Sydney returns, also missing bassist Patrick Matthews, the only musician truly skilled and, above all, the only one still sane in the group. Craig Nicholls, almost recovered after being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, is now accompanied by a new bassist, the trusty drummer Rosser, and a guitarist that almost makes you laugh at how much he tries to emulate Kurt Cobain!

The formula is inexplicably always the same: Beatles-like tracks alternating with Nirvana-like tracks with less anger, more banality, and an extra touch of Supergrass; but doesn't anyone tell these guys that we're at the fourth album and it might be time to grow up a bit? Not to mention the quality of the tracks: childish melodies, heard and reheard over years and years of Rock'n'roll ("Get out," "Scream"). It doesn't get better with the ballads either ("A girl I knew," "True as the night"), which compared to the good debut "Highly Evolved" almost give you the chills. In short, aside from the cute chart single, the rest is empty; plastic rock for plastic people, who seeing Craig smashing guitars on stage and ranting, might say they've found the Who of their generation.

But it's not over... "Autumn Shade 1" and "Autumn Shade 2" weren't enough: now there's a third version, syrupy pop that reeks of laziness and inconclusiveness. The guys are therefore self-celebrating: the "Mary Jane" from the first album is now called Kara. However, we still prefer the sweet Jane of the Velvet Underground.

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