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WINNING DAYS
The Vines
(Capitol-EMI)
This Sydney, Australia, quartet found themselves a part of the same neo-garage rock scene that included The Strokes, The White Stripes and The Hives a few years back. But a lot of media attention was really focused on the highly unpredictable and bratty behaviour of singer and songwriter Craig Nicholls.
Now it's sophomore time for the group, whose 2002 debut, Highly Evolved, was well received. Their latest effort, in stores Tuesday, kicks off with the kicky, catchy rocker Ride and ends with the blistering F.T.W. (F--k The World), but that's about as close as the band gets to ever reaching the fever pitch of most of the grittier material on Highly Evolved.
Working again with producer Rob Schnapf at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., The Vines opted this time for a more sophisticated pop sound a la The Byrds-meets-R.E.M.
Pretty departures include the harmony-heavy Autumn Shade II, complete with birds chirping, and the title track, Rainfall, Amnesia and Sun Child. All four are folk-tinged pop numbers with Beach Boys-like harmonies.
Less successful are the aimless psychedelia of TV Pro and the draggy mid-tempo rockers Animal Machine, Evil Town and She's Got Something To Say To Me. Needless to say, fans of the first album will be left shaking their heads. (More on The Vines)
Track Listing
1. Ride
2. Animal Machine
3. TV Pro
4. Autumn Shade 2
5. Evil Town
6. Winning Days
7. She's Got Something to Say to Me
8. Rainfall
9. Amnesia
10. Sunchild
11. F**k the World