If history has taught us anything, it’s that bands dubbed as ‘the next big thing’ rarely fail to deliver. Hype, mixed with raised expectations tends to be a deadly combination when it comes to these bands. Sure, they might make a name for themselves in the short-term, but soon enough, they end up as a footnote in the annals of music history.
While this is an extreme example, this is basically the story of The Vines. Having formed in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death as Rishikesh, the group honed their skills for quite some time. Following a name change, and years of compositions, the group caught the eye of the musical press, impressing them with their raw, primal style.
Music publications soon were calling the band ‘the next Nirvana’, and similar terms, raising hype for the group in a major way. In early 2002, the group released their debut record Highly Evolved, and packed with tracks such as ‘Highly Evolved‘, ‘Outtathaway!‘, and ‘Get Free’, the group were pretty much on track to live up to expectations.
The lead single, ‘Get Free’, was a perfect encapsulation of the group’s sound. With the instrumentation of a hard-hitting alternative rock band, and mixed with the powerful vocals of frontman Craig Nicholls, the track was a huge hit. Whether Nicholls’ vocals can be considered ‘singing’, or ‘screaming’, is up for debate, but this, mixed with a somewhat nonsensical and nihilistic attitude within the lyrics, was enough to give The Vines the worldwide fame their early work deserved.
Sadly, the group’s second record, Winning Days, didn’t get a good reception, and this trend seemed to follow as time went on. While the group did manage to have a number of decent tracks, such as ‘He’s A Rocker‘, they never received the same level of fame and excitement that they garnered as a result of their early work.
Sure, there’s a chance that the group could reclaim their earlier fame, and if so, it would be highly deserved given their level of musicianship and desire within the music scene, but sadly, it doesn’t seem too likely these days.
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