A Northern Soul

This album starts off like a mix between Radiohead and Joshua Tree-era U2 (think Bullet the Blue Sky). It's a cool vibe with a lot of great sounds but kind of trails off after the first half or so. Just kind of fades into the background of generic 90s pop rock. It's a decent album and just based on this listen I would probably look up some of their other stuff if I hadn't heard anything else from them. But I don't know that I would call it a great record by any means. 3/5

This album is a test in patience that I’m just not sure I really have.

I can commend a lot of things about this album; I think the guitar playing is fabulous throughout, I think the instrumental interludes are a fantastic showcase of that, and ultimately I don’t think it’s actually that bad of an album. It’s just not my kind of album.

It doesn’t hit on that many of my sensibilities, but much like a game demo, I’m smart enough to tell when something is probably good, but just not for me. I found that, for me, a lot of this album just felt too similar, a bit too boring, and a bit too monotone. I’m sure for another person, they’ll be able to appreciate those parts of it; to ignore the lyrics, ignore the slow prodding tempos that make songs feel even longer than they already are, and simply feel the music in a way that I just can’t. There are points in this album where it all clicks for me, and those moments, while brief, are really nice.

Realistically, for my tastes, I think it’s a 2.5 that I’m going to, perhaps begrudgingly, round up to a 3, if only because I recognize that it has something going for it that just doesn’t fit my vibe. It’s way better than Apocalypse Dudes, at least.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING

Made sure that was long & drawn out, just like this album.

It sure ain't no Urban Hymns. Found it a little too raw and a bit boring. 2.5

Boring yet pretentious. History is the only semi-standout for me.

I was really into this about 15 years ago; I loved its combination of Spacemen 3 psych, shoegazey rock, and baggy tunes. Not a fan of The Verve's later work ("History" feels like a dry run for "Bittersweet Symphony"), but this is great.

Tuskasta vaikuttaa kumpuavan, mut nyt en ihan saanut kiinni. Tavallaan ihan kiinnostavaa, progehkoa menoa, mutta vähän tylsäksi jäi. 2/5

Much more loose and jammy than your average Britpop. Because of that it's also much less hooky. Listening to this was like asking your friend to toss you a candy bar and instead they toss you a bag of homemade energy bites they concocted in their kitchen. Alright I guess.

I only knew these guys from Bittersweet Symphony, and turns out this one doesn’t sound much like that at all. Mellow, drifting sometimes into droning.

Its 90s brit rock. if its for you its for you. It sort of bounces off me. I am not a huge fan of the lead singer's upper register.

I’m a huge fan of urban hymns not sure why Iv never listened to this before, it’s also brilliant history the stand out song, but the rest of the album just not quiet the same level of urban hymns.

I in general LOVE 90's music...and have always considered myself a bit of an Anglophile. But this is boring. 1.5/5

never have gotten why people loved this album. Urban Hymns is the masterpiece, this would have never made me listen to the Verve again.

A typical Verve album with ups and downs, where you start skipping several songs on the album, but really listen to the few marvels on here (like History)

It mostly sounds like noise. On some of the songs that’s a good thing and it’s used in an interesting way, and sometimes it’s not my fav. Overall good.