Blogging on Meds

Chard at Glasto

I went to a listening party for the Verve’s Forth LP about a month ago (thanks Galle, Sarah et al) and thought it was was a damn good record, not quite Urban Hymns/best-record-ever classic, but close. (Here it is.)

Today, NYMAG writes: 

The Verve Record World’s First Decent Reunion Album

The resultant Forth sounds (mercifully) nothing like his albums and not much like the Verve’s 1997 breakthroughUrban Hymns either, but instead more like the band’s noodle-y, reverb-soaked mid-nineties material. This is a good thing. Nick McCabe’s awesome guitar playing could probably cover a multitude of sins, but there aren’t really any here (even not-great single “Love Is Noise” sounds pretty good in context). Highlights include “Judas,” “Numbness,” and “I See Houses,” but whenever these guys get together and play one chord for six minutes (as they do on pretty much all tracks), it’s hard to complain.

I would disagree that the record isn’t Urban Hymn-y. There’s an orchestral dance element on Forth that’s pure Hymns. Forth is actually like a mix between Hymns and A Northern Soul with a reverbish, buzzed-out vibe.

Unfortunately, The Verve are about to split up…again!

The Verve are on the brink of splitting up- according to The Sun- just a few days before they play V Festival. A report claims guitarist Nick McCabe is not happy about the Wigan group’s hectic tour diary and has been “getting stuck into the wild lifestyle.”

It’s alleged the group may miss V and that if they do make the Essex and Staffordshire dates they’re likely to be The Verve’s last ever shows.

Considering The Verve are pretty much my favorite band, I hope this is bullshit.

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