Tuesday 26 August 2008



Back with Forth


Richard Ashcroft isn’t one to mince words. Last year he was quoted as saying that, “None of those bands who get back together ever make a record. They never put themselves on the line.” I imagine he was referring to reformed bands who charge an arm and a leg for tickets to concerts where they rehash former glories with nary a hint of new material. Ashcroft and his former band mates in The Verve have had the chance to play before the multitudes who welcomed their return with praise and admiration, but they weren’t content to a life on the greatest hits tour–they put themselves on the line and made a record.

By now you know that said record is Forth, released today. Album four sees the band producing themselves, and returning to their roots in a sense; Forth is no Urban Hymns, forgoing much of their last album’s populist leaning for the extended, experimental jams that made their debut A Storm In Heaven so beautiful. Forth sounds like it would be a better follow-up to the band’s second album–and one of my all-time favourite records–A Northern Soul. Guitarist, and perennial Ashcroft nemesis, Nick McCabe has his stamp all over Forth, coating the songs in layers of sonic paint. His signature guitar work was sadly missed on Urban Hymns and is a welcome return here.

Ashcroft is once again wearing his psychedelic shaman’s robes, achieving a lyrical spirituality that is mentally, rather than pharmaceutically induced. That means that the drugs aren’t working, although when you sit and listen to this tense, almost manic album, you’d wonder if The Verve could use some sedatives to relax. First single, “Love Is Noise”, is an anomaly among the album’s tracks; its energy and positive vibe isn’t found anywhere else. Instead, there’s a brooding storm of misery and tension, echoing the album’s cover art.

So it’s with a slight trepidation and a clear explanation that I’m declaring Forth a triumphant return for The Verve. My trepidation is that I’ll appear as if I’m bandwagon-jumping on a nostalgic ride into my more recent past, hence my explanation: Forth is a good album for all intents and purposes, but it’s not a triumphant collection of music; it is a product of a band reuniting without succumbing to the trappings of nostalgia, and the lure of playing it safe. It is triumphant because it’s not meant to appease fans and satiate their public. Forth is a new chapter in the continuing drama that is The Verve. Just getting to the point where Ashcroft and McCabe could stand to be in the same room together let alone the same band is a triumph in and of itself.

STREAM: The Verve, Forth

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by J. Di Gioia | Comments Off

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