11 September 2008

The Verve release 'Forth' album

U.K- based rock group, The Verve, put out their fourth studio album, Forth, to the anxious hands of their fans.

Most Americans know the group from their ready-made soundtrack/playlist hit "Bittersweet Symphony," off of their 1997 record, Urban Hymns.

Despite the more than 10-year gap between their last record and the newly-released, Forth, The Verve have only had their talents fermented into something even better to observe.
"Sit and Wonder" sits as the introduction to a record that skips the generic verse-chorus formula and is replaced with with trance-inducing guitar distortion.

The second track, "Love is Noise" sounds like a psychedelic choir fronted by vocalist Richard Ashcroft - which is quickly followed by the converse sound of "Rather Be" were the choir and instrumental parts melt into the background to a mellow-sounding plea from Ashcroft.

"Valium Skies" features thudding bass lines, brought to us by Simon Jones, to accompany lyrics that the listener can never quite distinguish whether they are about drugs, a girl or both.

I was surprised, but very glad, to find the track "Columbo" included slinkly guitar riffs paired with a hurried, pounding bass line to create a spy film-esque quality that contrasts to the otherwise trippy meanderings of the record.

To finish off the band's newest endeavor is "Appalachian Springs," a nod to the aforementioned Urban Hymns. Fans of the group can find exactly what they were looking for - winding guitars that lead us to no where really but do a great job distracting the listener with its melodic sound.
Forth was everything I expected, but in the best possible way. The Verve took a step forward but without losing what was good about them in the first place.

Source: Meredith Mitchell, East Tennessian