Highly Evolved

Not bad, but the British press might have gotten just a wee tiny bit ahead of themselves when they hailed the Vines as 'the second coming of Nirvana'.

An absolutely nothing special alt rock/ light punk record

I mean, it's fine, but doesn't belong on this list.

Garage rock for Britpop fans. 5/10

Meh. Could have gone my whole life without hearing it

Not my favorite album. The melodies are great and have a distinctive late 90s/early 2000s sound. There's an awful screamo vocalist in this band. I don't know why he's included...to add angst? Anyway, I hate him.

This has no place here. It's derivative and so devoid of originality. What a joke to include it in the 1001 best albums.

“The next Nirvana” my ass. This is one of the most flaccid, soulless rock albums I’ve ever listened too.

Really love the sound that is somehow distinctively early 2000s and also evokes an earlier time. Good stuff. Best track: Get Free

I really like their sound. A bit Brit-pop but not quite so pop-sounding - a bit rougher around the edges like garage rock. Sort of like Oasis with a touch of grunge. Very nice. 4 stars.

Suck my massive yellow dong. A mega record that smacks you round the chops and buries its dick in your cheek. My bum is twitching and it's not even time for breakfast. Fire a dog into a lamppost and watch it wee it's pants.

Nr. 31/1001 Highly Evolved 3/5 Autumn Shade 4/5 Outtathaway 3/5 Sunshinin 3/5 Homesick 5/5 Get Free 3/5 Country Yard 4/5 Factory 3/5 In The Jungle 3/5 Mary Jane 4/5 Ain't No Room 3/5 1969 4/5 Aberage: 3,5 The influence of Nirvana on this Album could easily be heard. All around enjoyable

Great album - maybe? I had it on at work, listing to I, but... cannot recall a single song or tune.

OK but nothing too special.

Am I losing it, or does this kind of sound like a hair metal record in a bunch of spots?

This was a strong contender for a 5 from the first track and it was solidified as a 5 for me as soon as I heard get free, song I’ve always heard but never really knew where it came from. I love early 2000s alternative rock like this and this was 50 pure minutes of it with 90s grunge influences galore (I don’t think this is “the second coming of nirvana” but it’s definitely heavily inspired by them). Another favorite of mine was outtathaway.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 8/10 Did not expect an album I grew up with on this list. I was actually surprised that this album made the list. If I wouldve made a book with influential bands from the 00s garage rock/postpunk revival this wouldnt be on the list. Don't get me wrong, I love this album. I would say the band is just a bit too niche for this album. I know the Strokes and Arctic Monkeys made the list, which I totally agree. But including the vines? Nahh. If the listmakers really wanted to include an influential niche 00s garage band the Hives shouldve been chosen. (This could be foreshadowing). Not gonna lie, I love this band especially Ride, which is not on this album. Would definitely listen to this album again. But would not call it legendary. Ps: its an Australian band, not British 🇦🇺 Favourite tracks: Outtatheway Get Free 1969 Country yard Least favourite: Factory Mary Jane 8/10

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would/remembered. I think I probably lumped it in with all the other indie albums that were around at the time when it was released but listening now it sounds a lot stronger (or I just forgot about it). Some real bangers and a bit of early 2000s nostalgia.

Really enjoyed this, a generous 4 as I reckon repeat listens would make it grow on me more as well

Fun, high-energy rock that plays with a variety of sounds and does them all well. Really enjoyed this!

Noisey enough to be fun.

A proper year 9 staple this! Surprised it made the list but glad it did, must be about 20 years since I heard this. Doesnt quite sound as dated as I expected, and it’s easy to forget how decent the early 00s were for garage rock! Couple of tracks tht passed by without notice which detracts a little, but a nostalgic gem nonetheless

This is about as good as you were going to get for post 2001 radio rock, that weird time between the grunge bands and the indie rock re-do. Some of these songs, usually the more aggressive ones, are pretty great. "Get Free" and "1969" are good rock songs, if lyrically pretty dumb. The album kinda falls apart when they try to get introspective. "Autumn Shade" and "Country Yard" are just filler. "Factory" serves to remind you that, yes, they listened to and liked the Beatles. The rest of this is pretty generic to be honest. It's not that memorable but it's fine.

Highly Evolved is good in places, average in others, never bad or annoying, but frustratingly inconsistent. You get a meh track followed by a good one and back and forth; Autumn Shade, Sunshinin, Get Free and Factory are good, the tracks between less so. There's strong lead guitar work on most tracks but the vocals miss more than they hit throughout, probably a low 3 overall.

This is OK. I think I like a couple of songs by these guys, maybe they’ll be on here. All fine… nothing very memorable. What are those songs I like? Hate to Say I Told You So and Tick Tick Boom, not on here though, not much of interest on this album. Oh. It’s The Hives that I don’t mind. Who the fuck are The Vines? Why the fuck are they on this list?

I don't recognize any of these song titles. I don't like it. Too screamy/yell-y. I can see why Get Free is most played. It's probably the best, but I still don't like it much.

What a bonkers track sequence in this album. I had to back and double check I didn’t have shuffle on. This is The Vines. It should be 1. Slow song is acceptable 2. Increasing intensity track 3. Lead single 4. Slower but harder rocking song 5. Quick song 6. Slower song 7. 2nd single 8. Experimental track 9. Song that starts slow and comes back around quick. Overall I was disappointed after knowing the singles for 20 years.

I only made I through half this album before giving up.

This has been a week of my favourite early 2000s albums. I loved this album when it came out. Before today, I don't think I'd listened to it all the way through since probably 2003. I like every song on this album and wouldn't cut any of them. I think as a teen, my favourite song was "Country Yard" but these days, I think it's "Factory." Fun nostalgia trip today.

The best albums come to you at the worst times, don't they?

Banger

I love this album; I owned it when it came out. Just a peak of the Aughts garage rock. When The Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, and Tame Impala all indicate your band was a reason that they sound like they do, then you know you’re doing something correct. So sad that they only managed a small amount of music at the peak of their powers.

I am a massive fan of this album.

Still great fun to listen to.

Yup it’s definitely the vines.

Oh this rocks. Greatly enjoyed it. Never heard them before, but will be listening again for sure.

i hate blacks

Forgotten how amazing this is. It’s aged well.

Hadn’t heard of the Vines before but I loved this album! Another one introduced by the 1001 challenge that I may not have found 4.5/5

The Vines and the Hives make up the twin bastions of perfectly honed Chaos channeled into emotive magic. Perfection.

An album I loved at the time, and still do!

I hadn't listened to much of the Vines music, but always remembered liking it. I'm happy to say this album didn't disappoint. It's great from start to finish. On the one hand, it's unoriginal in the sense that you can hear bits of Blur, Nirvana, the Clash, Oasis, and a few others. However, they seem to have blended it all together in a unique way. Impressive debut album and one that I'll definitely come back to.

I haven’t ever heard of The Vines. This is a great album though… really strong debut. I noted that this is one of the “demoted” albums that are no longer on the 1001 list. Has the influence or lasting impact of The Vines not played out over the last 22 years? Then again who knows how this album may be influencing artists and music in ways we will never comprehend. Regardless of these meta-questions, I loved this album’s varied styles and great solid rock performances. It’s a great album demoted or not, and I could certainly come up with a list of albums still on the 1001 list that I think could easily be displaced for Highly Evolved.

Me encantó, 100% lo mio

cool

Excellent!

9/10

suprisingly awesome. lotta range. 5/5

I could hear some Weezer in them but like current Weezer. I really liked the creepy changing tempos

Yes they sound like Oasis, however unlike Oasis, they are not (to my knowledge) a bunch of pretentious jerks who think they're God's gift to music. Also I don't think they're the second coming of Nirvana. You can definitely hear Nirvana's influence on them, but they are not in the same league. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed this album. It honestly reminded me a bit of Cage the Elephant on their debut and Thank You Happy Birthday. They had nice variety on their stuff so it wasn't just 45 minutes of garage band rock. Really liked the fast hard hitting songs, they sounded great on them, but then they also sounded really good on the slower more melodic songs which was really cool to hear because normally bands on this list (at least recently) have been really good at one or the other but not both. Really liked this one a lot.

Highly Evolved by The Vines. I originally was going to decirbe this as Nivana but from Califonia and less suicidal. I have no just discovered they are Australian which is like Cali...but better. This is great, its fun, hits in the right places and is right up my ally

8/10

loved - rockin

hell yeah, I liked that one 🤘🏼

One of my favorite albums of all time. Every song on here is just an absolute banger, and there’s an exceptional amount of variety too. Such an underrated band.

9/10 crazy good rock album absolutely adored the diversity

I hadn't heard of The Vines before listening to this, and that's a shame

Excellent live album. Not only could Nirvana make great original songs, but they could make covers better than the originals, while live.

Gritty. Distorted. Energetic. Engaging. A great debut album from The Vines. I need to explore more of their catalogue.

Good clean aussie rock show

Really enjoyed this one. Loved the energy of Highly Evolved and the harmonies in Sunshinin. There's a nice mix of fun/energetic and some tamer songs. Added to my main playlist.

My favorite discovery so far!! They are like psychicadelic Beatles meet Nirvana and I am here for it!

Grungy garage rock fused with angry punk. Awesome album.

this album was weirdly pivotal to me in that it was one of the first albums i got really in to that was 'heavier' than my usual musical fare. That synopsis puts this album weirdly into the category of gateway music.

Man, that was a delight. I didn't really know what to expect from this one. I was aware of the band but wasn't familiar with their catalog. Turns out, this was my jam. I loved the "modern garage throwback" vibe so much. It was such a groove and I was digging it already but when "Get Free" hit, I was all-in. What a freaking great track. I got nothing negative to say here. Full marks. Immediate replay.

Great album, somehow I have about 3/4 of this in my library but enjoyed the whole thing. Get free in particular is timeless, amazing riff, sounds huge, always puts me in a good mood. Love this sort of garage rock and even though as the Vines' careers shows it does get a bit samey, one album's worth is spot on.

primeiros trinta segundos já vê que o bgl é kentucky

Pretty good

Interesting

Very nice!

This album is a chameleon and honestly....it's good? I enjoyed it? But I think it's trying to be all the things and listens more like a love letter to the 90s more than anything else. The soaring guitars in some of the songs sound so British and reminiscent of Wonderwall. Homesick sounds like it could be in Smashing Pumpkin's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Mary Jane sounds like it could be on any random 90s alt rock album. Factory is super bubbly and bouncy and feels like their ode to the ska movement that become popular during that time. And all the screaming parts sound like a Nirvana sound attempt. I don't hate this but it also does not feel original enough to be on the 1001 list.

I know this band's name but not their music. I thought this was pretty good. I hear a blend of Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana and the Beatles. I also hear Jet, also Aussies. I imagine the Hives had some influence on them.

Brought to you by the era of "The <noun>s" bands. First exposure to the vines outside "get free", actually really enjoyed the album overall, had to give it another listen. Just up my street, but nothing super noteworthy, 4* Comparing to Nirvana is bit much. Highlights: get free, outtathaway, country yard

Enjoyed this, a mix of indie, grunge, britpop and psychadelica. It comes together nicely with some good variety between the heavier tracks and ballads. Probably not a 5* album because The Vines wear their influences very heavily on their sleeves. Factory sounds like The Beatles, In The Jungle sounds like Don't Fear The Reaper, etc. Could easily go on but those were the last two tracks as I write this. Still an enjoyable album though

This album is very much a time and place for me as I listened to it often during my senior year of high school. It doesn’t hit as hard as I remember and given distance and more musical awareness, it’s a bit of an oasis ripoff in places, but still great.

Fun listen, classic garage rock.

Fun rock and roll. Could get a little over the top noisy and screamish, but never to the point where it was annoying. I'd throw this one on again in the future.

The Vines - Highly Evolved Album Review The Vines’ 2002 debut, Highly Evolved, is a raw, energetic blend of garage rock, grunge, and Britpop swagger. Bursting with aggressive guitars, pounding drums, and snarling vocals, tracks like “Get Free” and “Outtathaway!” deliver catchy anthems that embody early 2000s rock revival. The band’s frenetic energy and unpolished charm make these highlights impossible to ignore. What sets the album apart is its versatility. While fast-paced, hard-hitting tracks dominate, songs like “Autumn Shade” show The Vines’ ability to slow things down and embrace melody. However, this variety also exposes the album’s inconsistency, with standout moments frequently interrupted by less compelling filler, preventing it from achieving a cohesive flow. Despite its unevenness, Highly Evolved captures the rebellious spirit of its era and helped bring guitar-driven rock back into the mainstream. It’s a thrilling, if flawed, debut that showcases a band full of potential and leaves a lasting impression with its best tracks.

Aussie band - garage rock. Their songs can be very hard and screamy, but there are also some ballads. Nice range of different songs.

Enjoyable alternative album that feels familiar but I didn't recognize anything on it. Was I in love? No. But it was a good album.

The year is 2002, I just graduated high school. I'm in San Francisco at a small music club called Slim's. The Vines are the headliner but I'm not familiar with them, not yet at least. I'm there for the 2 opening acts that make this one of the more interesting lineups I've seen live and I'm still not sure what the connecting through line is over 20 years later. Opening the night is SoCal pop rock of Rooney, then it's the bouncy power pop of OK Go on tour for their debut album. And then, the wild, seemingly drunk and/or high punch in the face of The Vines on their first North American tour riding the high of Rolling Stone's claim that they're "the next Nirvana". Of course they didn't survive the hype, mostly due to self-destruction and it's impossible to live up to the expectations of being a new Nirvana. This was an interesting era in modern rock where every band was supposed to be "the next ____", and so many albums were released in the same year that that became so legendary that it was all too easy to be forgotten to the sands of time (You Forget It In People, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Songs For The Deaf, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot to name a few). In the end, this is a great album with some great rock songs (don't know what they were thinking with "Factory"), and it takes me right back to probably one of my favorite years in music. 4/5

I had this on CD back in '02. That's 1802, because I was born in 1780 and I have discovered the secrets of both immortality and sending CDs back in time. I cannot review this album because it is part of my secret formula.

surprising mix of all that has gone before. will def give another listen

Somewhere between STP, Green Day and mid 90s Radiohead grew the Vines. I loved how the first song Highly Evolved drops you right smack in the center of the song so it feels like you missed an intro but didn’t. There’s so many great songs in this album. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard from them earlier. Craig Nichols guitar work is incendiary and his solos kind of remind me of David Gilmour while his vocals definitely have a tinge of Scott Whelan in there. Key songs for me were Sunshinin’, the poppy Factory, and the groove heavy 1969. This is this is a good listen again.

I keep getting the Vines mixed up with the Hives. Not sure why people think this is the second coming of Nirvana; there are some mild similarities, but only in a few songs. Anyway, I rather liked this.

Great album!

Liked this more than I thought I would

really good early 2000s rock. never heard of this band or album

The comparison with Nirvana are obvious, but The Vines are a tad more accessible and the tracks are much shorter. The track "Sunshinin" reminded me a bit of The Teardrop Explodes. An album of contrasts - the harmonious melodic "Homesick" is followed by the heavy metal grunge "Get Free".

Good music, I wish the blog description did more to explain why it's on the list. It's pretty modern, it's by an Australian artist, and I'm always happy to hear what I think are ska influences. Solid rock album.

pretty good. kinda grungy, kinda garage rock-y, VERY noisy. not something i'd listen to all the way through very often but it's got its high points. i know some of these from Rock Band and of course, Get Free from Weird Al's "Angry White Boy Polka"... classic. favorites: highly evolved, outtathaway, get free, factory

It's 2002 and unbeknownst to us at the time, print-music-media has just about peaked and will soon decline rapidly. So how is the NME spending its prime-to-twilight years? Well, these are the days before rage bait and 'engagement'. In this simpler, less cynical age, engagement = sales. You don't actually want or need your readers to feel the need to argue with you. You want them to feel excited enough to keep paying money to read your pages every week or month. So how do you excite your readers? You tell them on a regular basis that THIS IS YOUR NEW FAVOURITE BAND! This is a SCENE and you want to be part of it! Every few weeks something else was ESSENTIAL listening according to the NME. It published a COOL list and a ROCK'N'ROLL list. And so we bought the magazines and CDs and gig tickets with our precious student loan money and loved them for a few months. Then we grew up, got mortgages, had kids and put our old CDs in boxes in the loft. And so with a little trepidation I'm here, rediscovering these LPs and realising I've not listened to them for 15-20 years and I'm really not sure how they've held up. Did The Hives do anything after Your New Favourite Band? (Insane fact: they actually did loads BEFORE it and it wasn't even really a proper album. Who knew?!) Did Bloc Party simply run out of ideas after their brilliant debut? (Yes.) And whatever became of The Vines? Like many of their garage rock revival peers, it seems from memory that they rode the hype train to decent sales of their debut, made a patchy follow-up then disappeared into oblivion. So I was actually pleasantly surprised to give this a spin after two clear decades of the CD gathering dust in the loft and discover that it was... really good. They didn't cling too stubbornly to the garage rock template, veering into some fairly successful experiments with slower songs, piano numbers and acoustic flavours while still peppering you with some great 3-minute rockers (Get Free, Outtathaway, Sunshinin'...) at regular intervals. There's a decent chance I'll wait another few years before busting Highly Evolved out of the loft box again, but I'm quite satisfied that in spite of the fact I will have bought it on the strength of one article, one glowing review and a couple of solid singles, I did have some sense of what made for a good debut album. And I might even dig into the six (SIX!) Vines albums that have come out in the meantime, as it turns out. Good for them.

Seattle grunge meets British rock. Great grunge song!

A kind of forgotten about old favourite, but it still stacks up

Oh what fun. An album that never would have gained any sort of popularity if it hadn’t been released in the early 2000s. Good energy on here. Good writing, fair lyrics. I enjoyed this very much. 4/5

The Good: actual fun rock to listen to. The Bad: too much forced usage of feedback. The Ugly: at times too poppy. Really enjoyed the album, but could not shake the feeling that they are trying harder instead of actually being... You know what I mean? 3 1/2* which will translate to 4

Very good, loved this album,

Rocking

Fun. Definitely kinda the next step into the 200s for the rock genre.

Good variety of rock styles kept my interest. A nice surprise.