The Vines - Ride - Video Streams

After finishing their 18-month world tour with a triumphant sold-out show at London’s Brixton Academy, The Vines jumped on a plane completely exhausted, promptly fell asleep as soon as they boarded and woke up in New York. From the city, they drove upstate to the famous Bearsville Studios in Woodstock and found themselves in the middle of a woodland idyll that must have seemed a million miles from the confines of the tour bus and hotel rooms they had come to know as home.

Finding themselves in the unusual situation of eating regular meals and getting enough sleep, they began rehearsing songs for the new album in a barn in the kind of laid back solitude they hadn’t experienced since leaving Sydney. With producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Guided By Voices, Elliot Smith) back on board, the band settled into a relaxed rural lifestyle like the refined country gents they always aspired to be, starting work early in the afternoon and working late into the night. Setting up and playing together as a band, they laid down the basic tracks quickly before settling in and taking their time to lay down guitars, keyboards and the centerpiece of all Vines songs, Craig’s vocals. Layering his unique trademark harmonies on each song while Patrick, Hamish and Ryan tinkered about the studio, The Vines were able to finally relax and get back to their main love – recording.

From the title alone, it’s obvious that The Vines’ second album takes a warmer approach than their grittier debut. The positivity of Winning Days as an album is reflected in the lyrics, the sounds and the songs. The drums sound like they did in the Bearsville room, the electric guitars come straight through old valve amps onto the tape, and Craig and Ryan’s acoustics are pushed to the front throughout the record. While the band retain their ability to produce incredibly primal rock n’ roll in songs such as the two openers “Ride” and “Animal Machine”, this album sees The Vines moving into even more complex and textured melodic territory than before. Upbeat folk songs like “Rainfall” and “Sunchild” mix with the beautiful acoustic balladry of “Autumn Shade 2” and “Amnesia”, while the off-kilter psychedelia of “TV Pro” prove that Craig Nicholls’ songwriting talents are burning even stronger here. The songs themselves, and Craig’s vocals – the melodies and layered harmonies – are testament to a one-in-a-million musical vision.

Winning Days is an album recorded by a band that exists purely to make great albums together. This collection shows a band not only living up to the promise they displayed on their first album, but moving way beyond it into a territory occupied by the genuine songwriting heavyweights, bands who run their own race … artists of genuine substance.

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