Great bands come from weird places. The Beatles came from the port city of Liverpool, Nirvana came from the northern oasis of Seattle, and U2 came from Dublin, Ireland, of all places. Now enter the Vines, “the next great band,” hailing from Sydney, Australia.
The quartet began when fellow McDonald’s employees Craig Nicholls (vocals/guitar) and Partick Matthews (bass/backing vocals) found out that they both loved Nirvana, and decided to start a band. Seven years later, the band (now with guitarist Ryan Griffiths and drummer Hamish Rosser) has signed a major label deal with Capitol, and is being groomed to be the next band in the world.
If their debut album, Highly Evolved, is any indicator, they might have a shot at a coveted place in the rock pantheon. At times, it screams with a rawness that hasn’t been seen since the dawn of grunge, while at other times it harkens back to the `60s with its psychedelic haziness and pop sensibilities.
This album seems almost manic-depressive in the way the songs play out. The opening song, “Highly Evolved,” is 90-seconds of pure energy and rage, which is tempered by the acoustic “Autumn Shade.” The shift is abrupt but altogether necessary in order to keep the album from peaking too soon.
This kind of hot/cold tracking also occurs when the howling “Get Free” is sandwiched between the piano-driven balladry of “Homesick” and the smoky “Country Yard.” The band does well at keeping the listener surprised; just as the album seems to lean towards full-on punk destruction and disorder, they throw in a simple pop song to even things out again.
Some songs even shift moods within themselves. “In the Jungle” starts as a garage-pop anthem, only to transform into a psychedelic freak-out in the chorus. Somehow, the band has found a way to link these two contrasting styles without losing the flow of the song.
Then there is the enigmatic “Factory.” From its modest beginnings as a Beatles-era Paul McCartney rip-off, the song shifts into a punkish primal scream, only to go back to the original motif without much fanfare. Such is the beauty of this album it combines so many influences that it’s hard to really nail down only one or two, which is usually the case with many debut albums.
From the looks of it, the Vines are primed to take back the rock audience that has strayed since the untimely end of such bands as Nirvana and Soundgarden. Their label has them as a top priority, getting them booked on The Late Show With Conan O’Brien, and their video for “Get Free” to become a staple on MTV. If they do fail, the only people they have to blame is the public-for not listening to this great album.
– Drew Ewing
