No Change, I Can't Change

I guess The Verve's story could be called without a problem "The Death And Resurrection Show". We meet, we like each other, we make a band, we fight, we break up, we realise we still love each other, we reunite, we fight again, we break up again, we met again, we reunite for the third time, we fight for the third time, we break up for the third time. Man, what a headache. However, Richard Ashcroft stated afterwards that there is really no point for The Verve getting back together anymore. Moreover, he started another musical project, called RPA and The United Nations of Sound. Some kind of "Look at me, I still have ideas when it comes to band names". Naturally, the debut album is called United Nations of Sound. "If you come up with a good idea, why waste it, right?" Ashcroft probably thought.

But enough joking. When you were part of a successful band (and you might say what you like, but you can't deny the awesomeness of Urban Hymns) and you start another one, comparison is inevitable. I mean, look at The Tears, they could never escape Suede's ghost, no matter how hard they tried - and we all know how it ended. Ashcroft, however, is a really stubborn person (but I bet you already realised that). Plus, he already experimented a solo career, even if it wasn't quite a successful one, so we might say he's prepared.

Even before you hear this release, you can get the idea of a new beginning - it is inevitable with titles like Born Again or Glory. Somehow, things change when you start to listen to it, as you realise there is nothing breathtaking there. An exception is Good Loving, which is a real highlight, as it sounds really nice, the beats are powerful and even Ashcroft's voice has something convincing in it. However, it's a unique moment. To give just an example, Beatitudes starts with a very nicely beat, but it ends up having such a repetitive and plane chorus, that you'll probably feel the need to skip it before the end. Same thing happens with most of the tracks. Nothing really innovative, nothing that could make you shiver or faint on the floor.

It's true, we cannot actually talk about wrong steps. It's a nice listening but this is not enough, and we all know that. The guitars are okay, the voice is okay, the keyboard is okay, the sampling is okay. It's so okay and pleasant that it becomes a problem. At least for now Ashcroft seems unable to escape The Verve's ghost, and at this particularly moment you might start to understand the deeper meaning of "The Death And Resurrection Show".


*photo courtesy of Richard Ashcroft's official site