Review Summary: Wickedly uninspired.
The Vines, a band that seemingly had it all. At one time they were the darlings of music press, but they were knocked down as soon as they were built up. Their debut album
Highly Evolved was a great debut and it looked like The Vines was set to become a big band. That was not to be, as the once massively hyped Vines ship started sinking with the release of their second album. On
Wicked Nature could they catch that magic once more?
The answer to that previous question is a resounding no. The main problem with
The Vines albums since their debut is that essentially they repeat the same album time and time again. Wicked Nature is no different in this regard, diving from
Nirvana-esque to
Beatles-esque sounds throughout. This is not to say that Craig Nicholls is not a great songwriter because that is the point, he has talent, but seems to stay on the same road with tracks such as "Green Utopia" which sounds very reminiscent to "Outtathaway", and "Anything You Say" sounds like a track I have heard on repeat by The Vines.
Stuck inside this double album is a decent single album. "Pyschomatic" is a blistering garage rock track, while things take a nice mellow tone with "Venus Fly Trap". The second side of the double album shows a more sober tone with less screaming, although it still is there on tracks such as the mundane "Everything Else". Side two would have been better served focusing on mellow tracks, as the heavier tracks get in the way as the record flows. "Slightly Alien" is a highlight of the toned down.
Wicked Nature as double albums go, is rather poor. No songs are that memorable, and the tired formulaic nature (pun intended) of the music, makes for an uninteresting journey. It is a shame that
The Vines or more so Craig doesn't explore with different instrumentation and let his more experimental side shine through, as I think he could be capable of something much more interesting.
The Beatles A Hard Days Night is a fine album but if
The Fab Four had been doing that same record time and time again we wouldn't be still talking about them all these years later. Maybe Craig can take a leaf out of his heroes book on his next outing.
