The Verve Pipe
Villains
»
The Verve Pipe
Villains
RCA, 1996
RiYL: Everclear, Sugar, Pearl Jam, Lemonheads |
The Verve Pipe aren't a terrible band, but "one-hit wonder" could wind up being an appropriate description. After years of regional stardom around the Midwest, the band signed with RCA in 1995, and were quickly deemed "the next big thing."
Villains is the band's long-awaited major-label debut, following the success of two independent albums, I've Suffered A Head Injury and Pop Smear. The overall sound is pretty intriguing, a fact which can be attributed to the album's producer, ex-Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison (it's no surprise Harrison was responsible for production of Live's smash album Throwing Copper -- some of the songs on Villains sound a lot like early Live).
The similarities to Live notwithstanding, the most readily recognizable influence on the album is Sugar, especially on "Drive You Mild.'' Lead singer Brian Vander Ark sounds half-Bob Mould and half-Peter Gabriel, and guitarist A.J. Dunning loves the speedy, powerful riffs and deep hooks common to many a Sugar rocker.
The Verve Pipe has also picked up a prominent grunge edge it either didn't possess or refused to let loose on Pop Smear. Songs such as the gloriously slow-building "Cup Of Tea'' arrive at the "lighter" side of grunge with an added shot of '70s rock sensibility, while a rootsier, more straight-forward approach works well on the lush "Reverend Girl," "Penny Is Poison" and first single "Photograph."
Vander Ark's voice more than carries these songs, where the distortion pedals are left off the guitars for the most part. If anything, Vander Ark's vocal hooks become a little repetitive, especially on the CD's last few songs. Thirteen tracks might have been a few too many for Villains -- the songs at the beginning are significantly stronger than those on the latter half.
Still, Villains makes for fun listening, perhaps owing to the fact that the band made it under the limbo stick just in front of listless major-label chart hogs like Matchbox 20 or Third Eye Blind. As major-label debuts go, Villains is one of only a handful of post-grunge rock records that really warrant repeat listens.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"