Label

Cooking Vinyl

Release date

6th October 2008

Genre

Indie

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The "new Nirvana" make a less than impressive comeback

Being touted as rock'n'roll's next big thing can be difficult to live with once it's apparent that you're patently not going to be.

Having promised greatness with 2002's debut Highly Evolved – and briefly lived up to it with festival headline slots and unhinged TV appearances – the lacklustre follow-up Winning Days was a complete flop. A meltdown followed the revelation that singer Craig Nichols had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and the band's recovery has been a long and less than successful one.

Melodia is patchy, low on substance and in places feels very generic – most of the songs are around the two-minute mark not because they're sharp or punchy but because they run out of steam before they've even begun. Away from their Beatles and R.E.M. sketches The Vines still have potential to fill a gap in the lives of those who crave dumb grunge pop as demonstrated on Braindead and Get Out, but even these bursts of energy feel flat.

More to try: The Hives: The Black And White Album Nirvana: Nevermind R.E.M.: Monster Shed Seven: Going For Gold