Fretplay.com The Vines CD reviews The Vines guitar tabs The Vines CD reviews The Vines tabs Melodia


The Vines - Melodia Audio CD

A fair review of the The Vines "Melodia" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Vines reviews here, or go back to the The Vines tabs.

The Vines Band: The Vines
Title: Melodia
Rating:
Release Date: 2009-03-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Get Out 2: Manger 3: A.S. III 4: He's A Rocker 5: Orange Amber 6: Jamola 7: True as the Night 8: Braindead 9: Kara Jayne 10: Merrygoround 11: Hey 12: A Girl I Knew 13: Scream 14: She Is Gone

Welcome back, guys!
The Australian band's 2002 debut album "Highly Evolved" was an instant smash in their home country and also in the US, and I even saw them live in support of that album (more on that later). The Vines will always hold a soft spot in my heart. Now finally comes the US release of their 4th studio album (released in Australia last year).

"Melodia" (14 tracks; 33 min. ) continues the formula of the band, mostly short songs. In fact, all but 1 track on this album are all in the 2 min. range. The opener "Get Out" immediately invites comparisons to "Get Free" or "Ride", the band's best known songs/hits, and if it weren't for the sorry state of commercial radio in the US, it should've gotten plenty of airplay, but alas. The songs come firing back at you in an ever fast pace. "Orange Amber" is a Beatles-like beauty if the Beatles were recording today. "Jamola" is a furious 46 sec. instrumental that then leads into "True As the Night", a 6+ min. epic. and the traditional one long song on any Vines album. The albums clips along quickly at 33 min. , and before you know it you wanna play this again. This album is not a great departure from their earlier output, so if you liked them before, you will like this, I can assure you. ("A. S. III" is of course the continuing story of "Autumn Shade", explored on their first 2 albums. )

I saw the Vines at Bogart's here in Cincinnati in support of their debut album, and they were outstanding, period. Regretfully, since then, singer-songwriter Craig Nicholls has dealt with all kinds of issues, and long story short, the band has not toured much (none outside Australia) since then. What a shame. "Melodia" is a nice return of the Vines, even if it doesn't break any new grounds.


You wont regret!
The product came just perfect!
At time and in perfect way and I'M IN PARAGUAY!
Just Buy this product! You wont regret!.


Best yet
And it's been out for almost a year. I can listen to this CD over and over again. The songs go from desperation, elation, grief, immense joy to downright what-the-hell-does-this-song-mean-and-who-cares.

It truly is all over the place, that's what I love about it. 'Highly Evolved', 'Winning Days' and 'Vision Valley' were all great in their own rights certainly. But 'Melodia' goes beyond. Deeper. More introspective.

I can't put into words all the things I love about this album, all the things it makes me feel and think. I just know that I enjoy it and it's one of my favorites. I am so glad the Vines are still around, that Craig is still around, and he's still creating something great for the world to hear.


Melodia Feels Familiar
These Australian rockers know how to put out an irresistibly catchy groove. The Vines are now on their fourth studio album. To say the least "Melodia" is very catchy, yet lacking any ambulation (no walking into any really new territory here).

"He's A Rocker" as explained by Craig is meant to be simply, but doesn't restrain itself from being great. Thumping beats with infectious waves of clapping summarize many of the songs. Their really seems o be a fun factor to the album, it ignites a smoothly defined aura that many alternative rockers turn into pretentious tunes. "Kara Jayne" is not the next movement of the similarly named track "Mary Jane" from their debut "Highly Evolved", instead a tune caressed in a loving nature. "True As Night" is the only really twist hear, the contrast compared to the blietzkrieg of sound from "Jamola" is an interesting one at that. True is rather long for the Vines, and it feels to gather from their older more softly melodic tunes.

Overall "Melodia" feels closer to their previous album "Vision Valley", then golden days of "Highly Evolved" and "Winning Days". Not a bad thing at all, but not a strong enough variety or change in sound to make for an amazing album.


step in the right direction
After Craig was diagnosed with Asperger's, and after how forced Vision Valley sounded, I figured they were done. I was surprised to see this come out. But they pulled through it, and now we're at Melodia.
This isn't the same band that put out Highly Evolved or Winning Days just a few years ago. Melodia is much more polished, and lacking in some of that edge. The songs are much shorter, the longest one (not counting true as the night, hands down the best song here) clocks in at just under 3 minutes. I think they're geared more for the mainstream crowd here. That being said, there's still some gems on here. True as the Night is beautiful, Manger, Braindead, and Merrygoround show that these guys haven't completely lost their edge, there's even a Hendrix-freakout style ending on She is Gone. It all flows very well, I usually end up listening to the whole album everytime any of the songs come up on shuffle.
My biggest issue with it though is, again, how polished it sounds. If I wanted to listen to something polished, I'd listen to something more technical or orchestrated, or I'd just turn on the radio. When I listen to the Vines I want to hear more of an edge. I'm not saying put out the same album over and again, I'm just saying maybe put a little more raw emotion behind it. There's enough there to keep things interesting, but I wonder if they'll put out anything at the same level as their first two albums.

3 and a half out of 5 stars. Rounding up to 4 because I love the Vines.


You can see a complete list of all The Vines discography, or go back to the The Vines tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]