Volume CXXXII, Number 2 September 20, 2002 f

Aussies rock out
THEODORE REINERT
STAFF WRITER

Change is afoot in the world of music. A crop of quite excellent rock and roll bands have appeared on the horizon of popularity, an alluring oasis in the desert of absolute crap that dominates radio and MTV. There's many (there is never a drought of good music, you just need to know where to look for it), but the ones who the spotlight and hype have attached to have been, in chronological order, the Strokes, the White Stripes, the Hives, and the Vines. Major label scouts are scouring the streets of New York City and Stockholm as you read this.

The Vines are one of the few groups that doesn't hail from New York City or Sweden. They're Australian. If you can't tell the difference between the Vines and the Hives, the Vines are the ones that made the cover of Rolling Stone, with the completely insane lead singer who smashed his bassist's wrist at the VMAs.

Lest you think that there is no difference between the Vines and the Hives, check out the Vines' debut LP Highly Evolved. The secret? Only a third of the tracks are in the Nirvanaesque vein of the single "Get Free." Songs like "Mary Jane," "Homesick," "Autumn Shade," and "Country Yard" drift along lazily in 1960s psychedelic pop territory. They're simple, blissful, excellent tunes. Lead singer Craig Nicholls may be obsessed with Nirvana, but he's also obsessed with the Beatles. The Vines actually made their debut on U.S. shores much earlier this year with a cover of "I'm Only Sleeping" on the I Am Sam soundtrack.

In fact, Nicholls complains about touring, wanting to record the next three Vines albums before going out on the road again, truly becoming highly evolved. (Locking himself in a studio for a couple of years would probably be a lot better for his health - fueled by constant supplies of Red Bull and weed, this guy loses his mind on stage).

This is no simple garage act. The Vines might be the most ambitious new band since Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis stepped onto the music scene in 1994 and declared that theirs was the best band in the world. And like Oasis, they've got the goods. Of course, it can't hurt that their lead singer might be the most entertaining frontman in rock since Jim Morrison.
Highly Evolved is an incredible debut. On the Strokes' Is This It, every song is high quality, but the Vines' sonic palette puts the Strokes to shame.
You've got melodic, psychedelic pop like "Homesick," my favorite song on the album; you've got irresistibly catchy punk nuggets, including "Get Free" and "Highly Evolved" and of which "Ain't No Room" shines the brightest; and you've got the in between: "Factory," a pleasant tune with ska beats, "Sunshinin," a blink-and-you-miss-it rave-up, and "1969," a stomping epic that combines everything before culminating in a glorious howl of noise to end the album.

In other words, Highly Evolved is just about perfect. Album of the Year honors will probably still go to the Chili Peppers, who have much better lyrics (the Vines' biggest weakness) but these Aussies will give SoCal's finest a run for their money.

Here's hoping that Craig Nicholls doesn't kill himself like his idol did before his Vines have a chance to evolve some more.