A Northern Soul

This album really clicked with me! I have always liked Richard Ashcroft's vocals and The Verve in general but never got around to listening to them properly. This album was a very pleasant surprise. A 21st century version of psychedelic rock. No bad songs, beautiful soundscapes. They seem to be mentioned quite often with Oasis but there is no comparison in my book. A 4 or maybe a 5. Go on then, a 5.

Waited too late and was pretty tired, but really liked this one. Nothing stood out specifically better than other tracks, but i thought all were equally solid. 4.5/5

Oh it's good

4, but bonus point for History, so 5

A lot more raw than Urban Hymns, but stil a cracker nonetheless

This does feel a little samey after a while but the overall sound is supercool. I really hate bittersweet symphony so it's nice to finally have an intro to the verve actually sound like this shits great

С первых двух треков слушается необычно круто и атмосферно, надеюсь дальше также будет очень нравится

Loved it. Reminds me of Iasis and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

cool

Surpreendente. Ouvir mais vezes

Great sounding record, very psychedelic, lots of Wah and droning guitar which I love however not the same quality of songs as their later records.

Good

The only song I knew by the band going in to this record was Bittersweet Symphony which I’ve never cared for. It’s always felt insipid and bland with very little musical momentum. So imagine my delight to find out The Verve is a band with an actual edge to them that can put out actual rockers. Unfortunately the slower songs fall back into the the tedious soupiness that I dislike about BS but for the most part this is a far better album than I expected

Tiene re malas reviews, qué onda? Entiendo que es un disco no tan especial y que no es ni el mejor de la banda, pero no me pareció un mal disco. Siento que sigue un estilo y hay varios temas que están bien, tmb porque es mi estilo. Le daria un 3,6

First full listen of a Verve album. Sounds like a dreamer, more Radiohead-like version of Oasis and I really liked the vibe. I need to do more thorough listen with headphones to appreciate it more but I still really liked it.

I think in hindsight I might prefer this to Urban Hymns, although I would never have said that back in the 90s. Maybe UH was just over played. A Northern Soul has some really beautiful songs on it, some powerful shoegazey guitar and none of the over commercial cheese of songs like Sonnet or Bittersweet Symphony.

Mellow

Imagine a parallel universe where Oasis has released this as the follow up to Definitely Maybe instead of What's the Story? Except they couldn't have because Noel, bless him can write a decent tune but can't play guitar like Nick McCabe does gere. History is the best track but the title track gives it a good run for its money.

Not a lot of hits, but still a quite good album. Favourites: So It Goes, History

Oh thank god this isn't the one with "Bittersweet Symphony" (a great song, to be fair, but I would be quite okay with never hearing it again in my lifetime). Excited to have an excuse to dive into the Verve's back catalog. The songs blended together somewhat and kind of fell into the background, but overall it's a great sound (brought to you the listener by COPIOUS amounts of ecstasy). Dreamy at times, erratic and intense in others. Sonically, there's a lot going on, and I dig the elements of mysticism and psychedelia scattered throughout.

increíble la vibra d este álbum. voy a considerar escuchar más the verve

This is quite good. I have a feeling that if it was the soundtrack of my youth I'd like it. Unfortunately it's not really my thing. But I can hear how the quality remains consistent across the whole album and that's a pretty rare thing. I'm going to be generous with my scoring and admit that I wouldn't mind listening to this album again.

Y’know from the reviews I expected worse. Maybe you just had to be the right age in 95 for it to still be nostalgic on the first listen.

I enjoyed my first listen to this album. It’s much like their other album on this list. But that album carries too much emotional baggage and bad memories for me. This album features orchestral arrangements that crash over excellent jams. I’m interested to listen again. A 4.

"A Northern Soul" is the second studio album by English rock band the Verve. Alternative rock, psychedelic rock and psychedelic soul are the Wiki-listed genres. Bandmember Richard Ashcroft said the lyrics revolved around one person experiencing various emotions as he wrote them after ending a six-year relationship. The album was produced by Owen Morris and the bandmembers included Richard Ashcroft (vocals, percussion, guitar, piano), Nick McCabe (guitars, piano, Organ , synthesizers), Simon Jones (bass, percussion, keyboards, guitar) and Peter Salisbury (drums, percussion). Commercially, the album reached #13 in the UK and had critically positive reviews. The band broke after the album but reformed to release an album two years later. "A New Decade" opens the album. A slow drum beat and guitar start softly but get louder as the band kicks in. A hard rock guitar. Ashcroft with fiery vocals. The song slows down again and ends with guitar feedback. A tambourine, pronounced bass and stoner-like guitar introduce us to "This is Music." Ashcroft is at the edge and needs music to transform him. More guitar feedback bringing it into the psychedelic realm. The layered vocals add to that. They soften it up a bit with an acoustic guitar in "On Your Own." More melancholic as Ashcroft is lonely and needs a connection. Finger snaps and a nice bass sound in more of a ballad. The self-titled "A Northern Soul" has a distorted, scratchy and wah-wah guitar crunch. A hypnotic beat as Ashcroft is exhausted and searching for purpose. The band shows where they would go in a few years on their album in "History." A string section is added by the London Session Orchestra. An acoustic guitar. Ashcroft with clear vocals as he explores love, loss and change. Good song! The music on this album can be hard, psychedelic, stoner-like and dreamy. It is not exactly Britpop nor grunge but there are elements of Pearl Jam, the Stone Roses, Oasis and even jam band. McCabe's guitar is edgy, hard, distorted and stoner-like. The volume of the bass and drums are purposely turned up. Ashcroft's lyrics and vocals are personal, heartfelt and emotional. There is a nice mix of rock and soft songs. The songs are long and some may say unfocused but I think that added to the atmosphere and texture. I would agree in maybe trimming or even eliminating some of the songs towards the end. But, overall, I liked this album quite a bit and recommend it it for any hard rock fan.

Woah, I was expecting to be extremely cross to have to hear this, but it's really good! Better than Urban Hymns I would say, despite not having the nostalgic wash of knowing all the songs. I think Ashcroft's voice basically never sounds this good again, and there's a lovely space-y wash all over this record. It's quite of a time and place, but I don't think that renders it redundant now.

Good album. Would have hit even harder on the bus back from Dundee at night, which checks out for an album named A Northern Soul. Oceanic like Urban Hymns but a bit more mellow and more britpop-y

Really good album. I wasn’t familiar with much of their music outside of Bittersweet Symphony. I enjoy the lead singer’s voice and delivery. The music is very good early-mid 90’s alt rock. Notable tracks include A New Decade, This Is Music, So It Goes, Brainstorm Interlude, Drive You Home, History, Life’s An Ocean, Stormy Clouds, (Reprise).

Solid stuff.

Now THATS what I fucking call music!

Grew on me very fast, like Oasis with shoegaze guitars

I liked this one a lot

Interesting because I think this is in a transitional period of the bands career, between the 1993 album which is shoegaze or adjacent to it, and obviously onto the britpop stuff which they got extremely popular making. So I feel like this has some good bits of both eras. I really like his voice and I think he sounds quite a lot like Thom Yorke, and I guess you could say that both bands would see eye to eye in terms of genre around this era, as circa 1995, they were both doing some sort of space rock thing. The instrumentals are really quite heavy without always having a big distorted guitar, could be to do with the compression. Favourite songs: all of them, but that one with the wah pedal. Overall around 7/10

Good solid stuff. 4

I’ve decided that Brit Pop is basically English psychedelic rock with different drugs.

By britpop standards this is absolutely aces. Psychedelia, bitchin instrumentation, deep rythmns and reverbed drums. Some of the slow songs need some love. But its a good album for sure just on the front tracks alone.

Solid.

The Verve ei oikein ysärillä lähtenyt mutta nyt tuntuu lähtevän. Loistava rocklevy vaikka ei ihan ominta genreä olekaan. Tykkäsin kovasti. 4/5

This was a good album to have as work background music. Four stars.

Крепкая жанровая вещь, пока еще без хитов. Больше всего понравилась A Northern Soul. В целом неплохое прослушивание, но я люблю, когда в моей нео-психоделии побольше свистоперделок, поэтому 3,5 с округлением в меньшую сторону. Upd. Засмотрелся на губы Эшкрофта, так что все таки округление в большую сторону.

Забавно, как каждый последующий выпадающий альбом кого-либо из исполнителей, впервые услышанных мной в рамках челленджа, нравится мне больше первого. Так и с The Verve, этот альбом мне зашел больше, чем альбом 1997 года. Трек This is music сразу ушел в любимые, и слушался в дальнейшем приятно. Хотя никакого психодела я тут не услышала, классический брит-поп, который я не всегда различаю на квизах. Если в прошлый раз ставила 4 с натяжкой, то сейчас от всей души. Устраивать скандалы на записи альбома похлеще «Настоящих домохозяек Нью-Джерси» и выдать годный материал- fun story

A bit noisy but pretty good

Not bad. Brit Rock with strings. 3.6

Quite a good album, not too sure on some of the dislike for it but hey ho. This Is Music was my fav song and fav first listen of the album and So It Goes and Drive You Home were my other highlights

Underrated. Great instrumentals, and overall really easy to listen to. There's something in the tone that's really unique to The Verve, that I can't really describe, but that makes the whole album mesmerising.

Soft 4. I’m unlikely to return to this, as much as I enjoyed it.

Another Verve album! I loved the last one so hopefully this is the same. A very strong start with A New Decade! It was powerful, but also had some sadness to it which was great! “How long will I run for, who am I running from”. A great lyric which is simple the first time it’s said, but grows in depth as you think about it. This is Music, was in my opinion, the better This is Music. On your own was a nice slower track which came in a nice place after the first two. So it goes was in the same vein, but I am ready to pick up the pace again. It did have some really nice guitar though. Also, very few songs earn the right to be six minutes long, and I’m not sure this one does. It’s good, but I don’t know if it’s THAT good. The title track was awesome!! A lot of the sounds were very out there, but it worked so well. This one deserved the six minutes. Brainstorm interlude was just that, an interlude, but it did have some awesome guitar work and some good drums. Drive you home was nice and relaxing and perfect for a bit of background music while I made dinner. I absolutely loved History. Like that’s almost exactly my vibe. No knock on my door was a decent track, and I liked the melody of Life’s an Ocean. Stormy clouds and reprise closed the album nicely. 4/5 ⭐️ 55/1089

Admittedly, I am a big fan of Verve. Comes naturally. I am a bit surprised that so many dogged this album and the band. Hmmm.... Oh well, that's why we are so apt to not like each other, be it politics, entertainment choices, sport teams, where we call home, etc. 4 happy psychedelic stars.

So I really like the Verve a lot and I really like this album. It was the first Verve album I listened to and 5 or 6 of the songs are still up there amongst some of my favourite songs. However, the issue u have is that whilst these 5-6 songs are amazing, I’ve never really got on board with the rest of the album. So much so that if I ever play this album I find myself just listening to the same 5-6 songs and rarely bothering with the rest. These 5-6 songs are enough for me to give this 4 stars but unfortunately because of the rest of the album it falls just short of 5 stars.

When they really get it going they are big sounding, with really bold soundscapes and some decent accompanying melodies. ‘This is music’ is one of my all time favourite songs. That being said, 60mins of this begins to drag, and Ashcroft’s vocals do grate somewhat over some often too extended periods of not much happening. For me, I prefer this album to the more famous younger sibling as it’s grittier and with more dense guitar parts (e.g less Ashcroft ballads).

I fucks with The Verve. Super musically interesting, rocks pretty hard, perfect music to walk around the city listening to. Fave tracks: - A New Decade - This Is Music - So It Goes - A Northern Soul - Brainstorm Interlude - Drive You Home - Life's An Ocean - Stormy Clouds - (Reprise)

The second album by this one of the classical Britpop brand is surprisingly psychedelic rock and spacey. While the lyrics are not as moving as with other albums, this music really makes up for it. Not something I'd listen to everyday, but often enough.

This is a really cool album. Laid back, cool.

The Verve create such a rich and complex soundscape on this album. There isn't an inch of space on most of the songs, so it's really striking when they switch it up on the likes of On Your Own and History where Ashcroft's vocals are allowed to shine.

I like the general sound of this album (moody rock with the vibe of Oasis), but I felt like something was left to be desired. The songs kind of stretch out too long. "History" is the only song that stood out to me because of how the emotional feeling came through in it, which was reminiscent of their song I am familiar with and really like, "Bitter Sweet Symphony". Overall, I thought this was pretty okay.

shoegazey in a cool but sort of try-hard way. wokeish. probably wrote it like they were god's gift. I did enjoy listening to this record. i'd pack a bowl, smoke, and turn it up.

Clearly you guys dont fuck with this shit the same way i do

4.25

Surprisingly, good Britpop album, a lot of really big songs I’m here. I’m not a fan of the genre in general, most of the bands kind of blurred together, but this stands out pretty well. Better than the more popular album as well,

I have no problem with The Verve. Solid Brit Pop. Very listen-to-able.

Really enjoyed this, easy listening and fun

A fun psychedelic rock/soul album that delivers the gold & doesn't overstay it's welcome. Clearly influenced by The Rolling Stones while having their own groove. Nothing you haven't heard before, but you'll want to hear it again as soon as it ends & that's a keeper in my book.

The single This Is Music is a wall of sound: blues rock progressions drenched in reverb and overdubbed backing vocals. Another single, On Your Own is a simpler production, more of a pop ballad without distortion. This record is a little reminiscent of the Stone Roses, only with a more lush production. Guitar riffs and sounds are alternately soothing and melodic or biting and dynamic. Ashcroft's vocals are somehow both languid and piercing at the same time. On the slower songs, the bass and drums shine, warm and immersive. Some tracks regress into a hypnotic drone, particularly in the second half of the album, vehicles for noisy, spacey, psychedelic rock jams. This jam feel would carry over to their next release, the blockbuster Urban Hymns. On the whole, it's a trippy, mysterious-sounding jammy rock record that maybe overstays it's welcome - it's over an hour long, and unless you're zoning out, there are only a few songs that stray from the pace and sound. The aural equivalent of a stoned-out afternoon on the porch watching the clouds go by, wondering how you ended up where you are and how long you're going to be where you're at.

Very enjoyable listen, I liked the guitar work a lot. It felt somewhat familiar to music I know well but with more psychedelic elements.

Great alternative record. Enjoyed listening.

tearful but I enjoyed

Obvs not as good as there first but a banger nonetheless

The Verve is a very good band. Each album is different. This shows range and a commitment to grow. I am not sure this album is my favorite, I don't think it is actually. Nevertheless it is quite very good and is in no way a "bad egg" or anything like that. It is really down to personal preference. Also, just because I personally favor a "different" album it does not detract from the excellence of this band overall, which is rather quite great! It also does not detract from me rating this rather highly.

Track 1. (This Is Music) Really great guitar, peak alternative rock. Don't think I've ever heard of this band before. 8.2/10 Track 2. (On Your Own) Like that, there is a bit of variety in this album; most rock albums blend into a boring blur. It could be boring, but not bad. 7.3/10 Track 3. (So It Goes) A bit long. 7/10 Track 4. (A Northern Soul) Loud af omg. But I love it. Also long. 8/10 Track 5. (Brainstorm Interlude) doesn't really count Track 6. (Drive You Home) Really long. Chill, but I like it. 7/10 Track 7. (History) Love. 8.5/10 Track 8. (No Knock On My Door) 8.7/10 Track 9. (Stormy Clouds) 7.9/10 Track 10. ((Reprise)) Not a song Overall Score: 7.8/10

4/5

Better than I expected. Much less Brit-pop and more mature with full sounds that seem more complex than a lot of the other bands that came up at the same time.

Decent album, not a new favorits but it's a decent shoegazey britpop album

Nice, great new discovery! Has the distinctive sound of a break-up album, which it was, personally and professionally.

Okay, I think I know what happened to The Verve: Oasis. I like A Northern Soul a lot more than Urban Hymns. However, I get the impression that The Verve could be seen as something of an Oasis knock-off on this album. If only it included "Bitter Sweet Symphony," perhaps the story of Britpop would be seen differently.

Great album by The Verve, whilst they never reached the peak of their mates from Oasis, they still put in a solid effort for the brit rock crew of the early/mid 90s. Best: On Your Own Worst: [Reprise]

Звучит весьма психоделично! Понравился.

History is one of the best songs of the 90s. Could grow to love this with time, but it did get a bit samey.

I continue to realize that I love 90’s Britpop. I don’t think I’ve gotten an album yet that I haven’t enjoyed to a decent extent. I only knew The Verve from Bittersweet Symphony, which I’ve always liked very much. Without that song on this album I wasn’t sure what I’d think. And then reading all the one star reviews? Boy do people hate on this band and genre! Well this indeed was another album I thoroughly got into and really dug. There’s a nice mix of louder noisy songs and slower, more thoughtful ones. But it works as a coherent piece about drugs and heartbreak. Adding the songs On Your Own and History to my “favorites of this project” playlist.

4 stars

Muy buen disco, geniales arreglos y letras fuertes acompañados de buen rock. Supongo que el muchacho Dylan tuvo buenos maestros en casa.

The end of this album was awesome. Super psychedelic and fun. Big fan.

Ganske ok, kult at dette kom ut før dei to hitsa

A lot better than I was expecting

I really liked A Northern Soul. I think it has been quite a while since i have heard anything of the britpop variety on this project so this album was a pretty nice return to that for me. My favorite part about this album is easily how melodic it sounds. I guess it is where the shoegaze tag comes in for this album but this album definitely felt like it had a very relaxing sense of noise to it. I also thought that Richard Ashcroft's vocals are just perfect for this kind of music since it adds to the melodic nature so well. It is also interesting to hear Liam Gallagher add some hand claps on the song History. It can drag on a little bit but i still enjoyed this album quite a lot. Best Song: This Is Music Worst Song: [Reprise]

Unpopular opinion but I liked this more than Urban Hymns. A bot front-loaded, but still a great record.

The Verve, a sophisticated Oasis. Gorgeous album.

I don't want to deal with this right now. It sounds like: I rated their "Urban Hymns" with a four, as I was *pleasantly* bored and I'm inclined to think "A Northern Soul" sits in between that and The Verve's debut which I quite liked, back then. So four it is, again.

This reminds me of an off brand Oasis. A good option if your in that kind of mood.

hell yeah

Cool laid back vibe Very diverse samples, fun You can hear their enthusiasm The lyrics don't do much for me

Kind of droning throughout but I like it a lot more than other albums on this list. I don’t know if I agree it belongs here but it was good. I’ll give this four stars understanding it’s not everyone’s speed.

Overall: 7/10 Honestly pretty good. I love the guitar sound on this album, it's very floaty and pleasing. The songwriting itself doesn't have a ton of variety and the vocals are kind of mediocre but the actual melodies and instrumentals work really well together. It reminds me of old Radiohead a bit. I might be giving it too much credit honestly, but I had a good time with it. Definitely shouldn't be on this list though. Fav Song: So It Goes

Bara hunnit lyssna två gånger. Är kanske inte golvade men jag gillar skivan överlag. Sån här shoegaze man kan omfamna. Jag tror nog jag skulle kunna lyssna mer. Det är ändå rätt behagligt. Har aldrig lyssnat ordentligt på the verve. Deras två hits har man ju lyssnat sönder, de är svårt bra. Så kul att de gjort mer bra (denna skivan när ju inte bittersweet och drugs -nivåer dock).

Det här är ett sound som tilltalar mig. Lite britpop, lite grunge, lite shoegaze och överlag en härligt drömmig atmosfär. Förutom History så saknas de visserligen låtar som sticker ut, men det är ändå ett genomgående väldigt stabilt och solitt hantverk.

Can see where urban hymns came from, decent record if a little self indulgent

Really good, sounds a lot like the Stone Roses. Had only really listened to Urban Hymns previously

Fantastic album. Not quite Urban Hymns level but still a solid entry in Britpop.

I never got into the Britpop scene, but after listening to this album and Oasis’ debut album, I’m thinking I missed some good music. I wasn’t looking forward to hearing this album after a long day, but I was surprised at how good it was. I have no idea why it didn’t make a bigger splash. I even enjoy Richard Ashcroft’s singing more than Liam Gallagher's in a way, though Gallagher has a more unique voice. It seems once Oasis blew up, The Verve was next, but it didn’t happen. One reason might be that it seemed the singer, Ashcroft, & the guitarist, Nick McCabe, started to hate each other. McCabe seemed to be the more serious member of the group & others liked the fringe benefits of rock ‘n’ roll more. The Verve broke up after making this album, reformed without McCabe & made 1 album, then was kaput. This album is enjoyable, but it’s loud. I’m no producer, but something they did during production makes the music become grating after a while & you have to turn it off to give your ears a rest. With that said. I really liked this album & will listen to it in the future. Best songs for me are A New Decade, This Is Music, A Northern Soul, and History. If you’ve never messed with Britpop before, this album is a good one to hear.

A good album, I liked Drive You Home and History the most.

I've got to be honest and say that I thought of The Verve as a poundshop Oasis but I was pleasantly surprised!

not bad, good intro to the bad im really into. will revisit

I liked this album.

Enjoyed this album today, it kept my attention throughout.

Like most of alternative 90s Britain, my interest in The Verve began and ended with Urban Hymns. I think I gave this a spin or two but nothing stuck for me. Listening again 30 years later I can see why nothing stuck at the time but I'm also kicking myself for not trying harder. I've really got into this album today; there's a lot more noise elements and the guitars are actually doing a lot more for me than they would subsequently attempt on The Drugs Don't Work and the like. This is a fascinating and atmospheric beast that ebbs and flows with superb bass and effects-laden guitars dancing around Richard Ashcroft at his surreal and swaggering best. It's probably as good as Urban Hymns, certainly darker and moodier, and might actually be even better than its famous, acclaimed sibling. I'm gonna have to go away and listen to their debut properly now, aren't I, dammit?!

this alt/psychedelic rock album from the Verve, a contemporary of Oasis, followed a contentious recording period with a number of famous stories that resulted in a distinctly UK-sounding alt rock album that incorporates some psychedelic soul sampling and creates for a full yet floaty rock album that is very clearly 90s, but in a good way.

It's certainly less polished than Urban Hymns and lacks the anthemic hit songs, however I really liked this one as well, rhythm is tight and the guitar work is layered, heavy, and ethereal at times. Definitely the type of album to grow on you, maybe a bit long but found it excellent in moments.

Ephemeral, great music. Good overall consistency through album.

Good!

Great groove. Always enjoyed this album.

Very mellow, calming yet energizing? I enjoyed it

When I first heard this album, I was driving through a windy road in the Austrian Alps. I bought it in CD on a vacation where I forgot to pack any. It became the soundtrack of the trip. Great 90s British rock. A little less anthemic but no less impactful.

Actually pretty great. Didn't think I was much of a fan of this band, but both this one and Urban Hymns impressed me. 3.5/5

This is a great album! It outshines much of the rest of BritPop. I do think that their third album, Urban Hymns, is better.

I really like the Verve's sound. However, this album is much, much too long for me

I forgot how much I love this album. Might actually be better/deeper than Urban Hymns. Loses a star for reminding me of being young and having hope for my life and the world, though.

Better than I anticipated

God, I love maturity... The Verve released one of my all-time favorite albums, Urban Hymns, and it made a certain 17-year-old (AKA: me) very disappointed with the band's other albums. But now, listening to it again years later, The Northern Soul sounds amazing! Maturity has taught me to appreciate albums like this, without the need to compare them to other albums that are incomparable. It's not perfect, but it deserves 4 stars.

Two Verve albums on this list, and I've barely started? What are the odds? Let's see why they deserved two entries! Yeah, another great album. Solid quality all the way through. 4/5

We've got Oasis at home.

I do enjoy the walls of guitar noise, but songs themselves are a bit non-distinct.

This album sounds like someone gave Oasis a philosophy degree and locked them in a fog machine.

My 800th album, and it’s my second Verve album to review. I don’t know any of the songs off of A Northern Soul, but I really loved Urban Hymns, so I’ve really been looking forward to reviewing this. Here’s hoping that I love this one just as much or more! I didn’t love A Northern Soul, but I still thought it was a really good album, and I enjoyed listening to it. I thought The Verve sounded a bit like U2 on some of the songs on Urban Hymns (it didn’t detract from my enjoyment any), but I felt like that similarity was a lot more pronounced on A Northern Soul, especially on the first two tracks. The only song that stuck out to me as unenjoyable was “No Knock on My Door,” where the vocals had a quality to them that I really didn’t enjoy. The rest of the album was really good, but the songs that featured an acoustic guitar or were a bit softer (and consequently less U2-esque) were my favorites on this album. “History” really stood out to me as the best song on the album. I loved the strings (a feature that was more prominent on Urban Hymns, and also a feature that I loved), and I thought it was easily the most beautiful and complete song on the album. The title track was really good too, and I felt like it featured some of the best vocals on the album, and it was my favorite of the songs that were a little bit rougher and more rock-based. The songwriting on this album was good as well, and it felt very cohesive. However, some of the songs were a little too long for my tastes, and the album as a whole dragged a bit at times. Overall though, I enjoyed listening to this album, but I definitely enjoyed Urban Hymns more.

A powerhouse in the Brit Pop era that should be rediscovered outside of the mega hit that most people know.

For some reason, 90s Britpop has always given me bad vibes, and whenever I come across an album from that scene, I'm always hesitant to start it. But once I listen, most of the time they're better than I expect. Well, this is one of those albums. I can't say I really enjoyed it, but it was pretty solid. It was heavier than I was expecting, and I really like the psychedelic element.

Always thought these guys were a bit of a one hit wonder joke but this is actually pretty good you know!

Cool, Coldplay was inspired

Great album. Thought it would be some mopey rock but actually wasn’t

Decent sounds and a good vibe. Overall not super memorable though. Nothing in particular stood out, but I enjoyed the album overall.

These are the Bittersweet Symphony guys. The opening track A New Decade is very good. This Is Music is great too. On Your Own too. Self-titled song is cool. History is great with some strings. The album has lots of psychedelics sounds and droning. Pretty good overall.

Sure the get a bit poppy with the next record, but this is a psychedelic hit parade with many layers

Taking the mdma rock of Madchester out of the Hacienda and into a dingy dive bar, keeping some of the groove, but mostly slowing everything down and adding layers of swirling shoegaze guitars covered in wah wah and reverb, this album is full of big sounds and spacious songs that spiral and sprawl out. It does that trippy pyschadelic thing of using drone notes and warm overdriven repetition of melodic loops to draw you in hypnotically, allowing the rest of the sound to work on the rest of your mind and body - the high-register loping basslines create a loose floaty feel, the gutiar leads introduce little phrases that repeat and interate and transform into fuzzy feedback and fade away. Blissed out music and depressing lyrics, the classic combo!

Er rigtig godt album som jeg ikke kendte noget fra. Der er lidt for meget Oasis over det til tider. (ikke så tydelig Verve.) Jeg fik ikke lyst til at sætte den på igen da den var færdig, derfor 4.

Det er faktisk okay fedt. Lidt shoe-gaze, psych-rock agtigt

I’ve always liked the Verve less than the other Britpop bands (still do) but did enjoy this album. I think I’ve tried their other two albums and didn’t get much out of them but the first half of this I liked a decent bit. Still it’s more of a like and never a love with any of these songs. I feel so bad for the guitarist after reading the background of this album. Sounds like a miserable time. Rating: 3.9

4/5

The Verve before all the spiky edges were sanded down and they made gazillion-selling anthems. Inevitably, it's a bit longer than it might be but it proves that the drugs did work for a while.

I'm just amazed that one of these guys managed to look like all 4 Beatles at the same time

The Verve was a British band that had a short but very successful career. A Northern Soul was their second album, which met with significant critical success, but limited commercial success. Their third album included the single "Bittersweet Symphony," which was incredibly successful, and unfortunately led to the band's demise. Their fame has led to renewed interest in their earlier work, and A Northern Soul got a "second look," both from critical and commercial audiences. The Verve were one of the bands to dominate Brit pop in the 90s. They made a guitar-driven, psychedelic version of alt rock. This is an interest collection of songs that was fortunate enough to get a re-evaluation.

One of the things about britpop is that a lot of these bands over here are known for the one song. Blur is known for "Song 2" (a billion streams). Oasis is known for "Wonderwall" (a billion streams). And The Verve is known for "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (a billion streams). But this album came BEFORE their big hit. Having said that, there is a lot to like here, but some of the songs do overstay their welcome ("A Northern Soul," for example). And really, we didn't need the falsetto on "On Your Own". The instrumentals felt a little jammy, like you had to be there to "get it". But the music as a whole had a very psychedelic to it. I dug it. Top tracks: "A New Decade," "Brainstorm Interlude," "Life's An Ocean"

This album left with me mixed emotions. Initially, I was annoyed to even see a second album by The Verve. Their big breakthrough Urban Hymns wasn't that special in my opinion - good but not great. And it was very well-regarded by critics so it's not as if it was commercially successful but not musically accomplished. Upon listening to this album, I was struck by the first bunch of songs and wondered if I might like it more than their big follow-up. It's sort of trippy and Brit-grungy, with higher tone distortion (not low fuzzy distortion of American grunge). A New Decade, This is Music, So It Goes, the title track, and Brainstorm Interlude (5 of the first 6) all have that sort of slow-building and brooding buzz that is captivating. And except for the last one, they have a crooning from Richard Ashcroft that you can hang on. That was my one knock on the other song of the first 6, On Your Own. Ashcroft's vocals are a bit different and the high pitched stuff toward the end isn't as good. The second half of the album kept it up for the first few songs - I quite enjoyed Drive You Home, History, and No Knock on My Door. The last 3 songs sort of dropped off; too decadent, long, boring, aimless. Still, we're talking at least two-thirds of the album that I thought was pretty good. Does that mean this album is better than Urban Hymns? I had to go back to it to listen again and compare. Yeah, it's better. I'd say half of the songs on Urban Hymns are too decadent, long, boring, aimless and they come about every other song. It has some great singles but the rest is pedestrian. This album is more consistent, and it gets on a real roll before it runs out of steam. It should be their only entry on this list.

Really good!

Good 90’s album

7/10

To me, this is the real "The Verve." "Bittersweet Symphony" is a good song, and that album is also incredible, but "A Northern Soul" is really what they were as younger lads putting their own sound out into the world. The sound is a mix of "shoegaze" and the same Manchester sound that led Oasis in the direction they went. It really is a sound that has to wash over you, and I think Ashcroft has his own unique voice and lyrics that help separate them from what could have ended up as much more niche (as many shoegaze bands are).

The Verve's second album is more psychedelic than their debut and less commercial than their third one. I love the intensity and the hypnotic sound of 'A Northern Soul', it's also quite dark and mellow. 'History' is one of, if not *the* finest moment in the band's career. I love their music, it's my kind of thing an I think they were one of the best in the mid-90s UK alter rock/psychedelic rock scene (I don't consider them britpop, because they were vastly different from Blur/Oasis). It's one of those times I wished we could give half stars as well, because this album is better than most of my 4 star albums, but a bit worse than my 5 star albums. I rounded up Bittersweet Symphony, so I round down this one, but it's a strong 4.5 star album.

Will definitely revisit, could be a 5 in time.

I would have given it a 5, but some of the songs got kind of whiny.

I liked it but it’s different

I liked it but not a lot

i checked out my other review for this band on this site and it talked about nostalgia. that’s honestly the best descriptor of this band for whatever reason. it’s not REAL nostalgia because i’ve only heard of them from this site but it’s just baked into their music. it’s very cool every time

The vocals are all that very familiar sound of Bittersweet Symphony with a harmonious, lilting, musical side.

The album sounds really good. It has its ups and downs but those guitars kick heavy. Britpop meets shoegaze.

Northern Soul was always a genre me and Len wanted to really get into. Something we both had a real affinity towards. We told Ashcroft that this was a misleading title if it wasn’t packed with Northern Soul. He simple replied ‘where’s the houmous and chutney then lads?’….alright soft lad. Pipe down. Over the moon that it was only downhill for him from here. Only idiots think Urban Hymns is better than this. 4.1

Meestal niet van de britpop maar vind dit wel vet, zit wel diepgang in. Favo liedjes: title track, history

Славный альбом. Славный предшественник Urban Hymns. Многие стилистические приколы из будущего альбома можно уже услышать на этом. Лично для меня не хватило не много разнообразия. Да и есть ощущение, что работу оценят лишь фанаты The Verve или Urban Hymns

I'd never heard any of these songs before, but I enjoyed it more than I expected! History in particular is a great song.

Liked this a lot. Very easy listening

History is pretty epic, kind of forgotten how huge The Verve were for a year or so

4.5 rounded down very nice! a little meandering but its ok cuz they were apparently zonked out of their gourds highlights: a new decade, this is music, a northern soul, drive you home (nov 1 2024)

Not heard this in a while. It probably is better than Urban Hymns to be honest, and History is definitely their best song. Fair play, it's stands up. Something of a midway point between decent shoegaze and half decent britpop/baggy, which it basically is. There are much fewer 'standout' tracks than on the poppier accessible Urban Hymns, which you could read as this being 'boring', or just a very chill vibe to drift off into, depending on your perspective. I'm in the latter camp. Definitely grow into this as it goes along. Really takes me back, I don't think I've listened to it in 20 years. Enjoyed.

Shades of U2, the Replacements,

I totally missed this era of music. Nice to revist

first few songs were actually pretty unbearable and then i suddenly was sat. fav tracks drive you home (i think its called), history and the closing track

Instrumentals are excellent but I feel the singing is give or take. Songs are not so memorable for me but sound good in the moment.

Dopo un album dei the Verve uscitomi tempo fa avevo poche aspettative ma questo mi è piaciuto di più, mi ha ricordato i Radiohead

Really enjoyed this album! I will have to return to the 3 hour deluxe version some other time, but this album sounds like more. 4/5

Great album!

I really liked this album! Kind of gave me a Music Festival vibe, lots of variety!

This was a nice Brainstorm Interlude to my day.

its a 4?! Not my usual music type at all but I was glad to listen to it last week.

Some of it feels bland, but sOME of it👀👀Tracks 3 through 6 were a wonderful journey of noise! Excellent ending too. Also, 'living is for other men' was such a raw line for me

3/4

A cup of Radiohead, a pinch of U2, and dash of Oasis. This is a good shoegaze rock album that was much better than I expected. Killer guitar sound.

This was so good. Very alternative 90s, very Verve. The lead singer has some early U2 Bono sound quality to him that I really liked, and the sonic timbre was very nice. Four stars.

Atmospheric and a chiller vibe than what I know of their other albums. Good background working music.

This is very good indie. I have listened to urban hymms before but not this. Its a good and easy listen and I will listen to it again. There are some great songs on this that you just dont hear very often. Favourite song: So it goes, On your own and history Least favourite: All good Album artwork: Great cover

Dopo un album dei the Verve uscitomi tempo fa avevo poche aspettative ma questo mi è piaciuto di più, mi ha ricordato i Radiohead

Good but not their best

A stylish and meditative alternative album. Four stars since they kind of just put down some bass rhythms and turned up the reverb on the guitars.

Nice mix of mellow ballads and energetic rock

This was pretty cool! It did begin to feel a little repetitive (but then again, I listened to this near the end of my work day), but I generally enjoyed this style of music. I don't think I'd ever heard anything by them before.

Spotify said that it couldn't play "A New Decade" or "Life's an Ocean" for some reason? Several tracks sound very much like Oasis songs from the same period, which isn't surprising as they used the same producer, Owen Morris, but other tracks hint more at what was to be the style of their next album "Urban Hymns".

Not bad. Missing songs on spotify link, but there is a Remastered version with the missing songs. Got caught up working with this on repeat... and it didn't outwear it's welcome.

An iconic album from the time when things were JUST starting to shift into the various factions of shoegaze/britpop/rock. These guys are in no rush and it's ever so slightly too laid back for me, compared to their superior next album Urban Hymns.

This is the kinda stuff I like, so it was an easy listen and an easy 4. I’m surprised to see this has such low reviews tbh.

I only knew The Verve from “Bittersweet Symphony”, and now as I get older I realize the singles are usually the worst songs!! (Cue the discovery of U2 as well hahaha). This album rocks! Already listened to it on repeat and as much as I’m not a big Euro rocker, I love every song on this. Listen again: yes Purchase for my collection: yes Favourite Song: hard to choose

cool, maybe 5

Classic

Absolutely a classic album. The Verve nearly at their very best! Awesome, sprawling, psychedelia tinged rock. If only Ashcroft wasn’t such an anti vax moron…

This one kind of slogs near the end but I still really loved the sound of it.

Really good. I had only listened to Urban Hymns but this was a pretty good album too, even if not as good as that one.

Many good tracks but the Reprise to end saved it another star.

I love it

I listened to this a lot in high school.

Need another listen. Was good.

хорошая работа

I enjoyed it, more atmospheric than Urban Hymns. But Urban Hymns still takes the crown for me, its generational.

Esto SÍ es buena música. Cierto que el guitarrista tan solo se sabe un par de rifts, pero en conjunto tienen un sonido agradable y duro.

kad se sjetim kad sam bio samo na njima neko vrijeme. imaju dost dobrih stvari na ovom albumu.

I accidentally listened to the deluxe version xD haha but after going back and listening to the original songs, I enjoyed the experience. Probably an 8-8.5/10 for me.

Cool album. Not sure why I have never listened to The Verve before. Deluxe was 3 hours long which I am not about.

Had this down as a 4 star album but needed a few spins to get back into it. It is still a really good album (britpop mixed with psychedelic rock in the "right" way) with one absolute 5-star song (History) but Urban Hymns made a much bigger impact at the time. 90s view: 4 stars 20s view: 4 stars

Quality album

Really enjoyed it. Good melodies, nice hooks. 4/5!

It's OK. Some angsty cover images though

Once I got over the fact that there was a Verve album on here that didn't include Bitter Sweet Symphony, a song I hate but is like the only thing I know the Verve for, I thought it was just a discount Oasis album and nothing more. While it kind of still is that, I actually really enjoyed this album. I loved the bombastic production, especially on This Is Music, and the vocals basically sound like a Gallagher but whatever; more Oasis isn't bad. This is definitely one of the most surprising albums I've gotten recently.

It’s a really good album. I also see why none of these tracks hit big, none of them really stand out.

I've been waiting to hear a British alternative/rock album like this. A good mix of standard alternative with just the right amount of rawness and experimentation. I felt like only a couple songs didn't stack up to the rest, which was surprising since this album is over an hour.

Another great Verve record, a guitar-driven alt rock record still relying a lot on shoegaze but also on Britpop contemporaries, with pop songs like "History" showing their direction in Urban Hymns. Sometimes sounds like trip hop ("Life's an Ocean") or Mazzy Star-style dream folk ("Drive You Home"). Has a lot of repetition, and a few weak songs, particularly "No Knock On My Door." They're really carried by the production, since I found the bonus tracks to be really boring generic 90s alt rock (albeit softer and lusher). But a good record overall with a strong opener and closer, and plenty of highlights. Favorites: This is Music, On Your Own, A Northern Soul, Stormy Clouds

That was a pleasant surprise. So much better than Urban Hymns.

Having only really embraced Urban Hymns, I found this to be a very enjoyable listen! Will revisit it later, but on first listen there were no pieces that immediately jumped out as memorable, but as an album it definitely had an excellent flow and feel.

Slow ass Oasis

Pleasantly surprised

Northern Soul was, as expected, an edifice, anchored with even hands at sweet nostalgic Britpop, psychadelia, and a melodramatic synthesis of shoegaze. That pinnacle, and the plainer, sadder influence of rock, suits me plenty. We're just before or maybe at the moment of collapse, in the last memory of strings' ability to inflate songs like these. Admirable, containing their own mockery.

Better than urban hymns

I love this genre a lot! But this album didn't really have anything special.

Nice album! Really enjoyed the overall sound of it.

This moody vibe hit me at the right time

A logical next step after the psychedelic haze of A Storm in Heaven, A Northern Soul finds The Verve placing their hearts on their sleeves both musically and lyrically, hanging their hats on their brand of intensity and overt epicness. One wouldn't think by listening to this that they were on the verge of falling apart around this time, but they were and sounded majestic whilst doing so. Bittersweet, really. Favorites: A New Decade, This is Music, On Your Own, So It Goes, A Northern Soul, Brainstorm Interlude, Drive You Home, History.

The textures of these guitars make you feel like you’re in a float tank of tone. Reminds me of the tone of “Let It Be” era Beatles (obviously not a coincidence). Good to throw on for its vibes, but not music I feel emotionally connected to.

Big U2 influence. Reprise at the end got really spacey.

classic Verve, half interesting half boring.

Great album. You can tell the band had ambition and an idea of how they wanted to grow their sound and it worked. The ballads are solid (which The Verve is known for after Urban Hymns), but the rockers are the stars on this record.

Drugged and brilliant.

Liked much more than I expected...much less obnoxious than Urban Hymmns, which I liked at the time, but find harder to enjoy as an adult

Grungier oasis.

Precies wat steviger dan ik van The Verve verwachtte. Maar echt memorabel is het niet

Has a distinct mid-90's Alt-Rock feel. Atmospheric vocals layered on flowing guitar and beats.

Nice one, but not even comparable to Different Class, Dog Man Star, The Great Escape and Morning Glory

trying to figure out what sets this album apart from other bands with similiar sounds in the 90's. Brainstorm Interlude is elevated rock. Similarly, History and Life's an Ocean.

Some cool spacey vibes going on in between the brief interludes of 90s cringe

This is indeed one of the indie albums of all time. 4 stars.

The Verve is so cool. So is the Verve Pipe - though maybe not quite as much. They are, in fact different bands for anyone still wondering. This is like mean, gritty Oasis and I love it.

Sometimes there is more to a one hit wonder then you think. This was good and reminded me a lot of Oasis in that it took 1960s sounds and modernized them for the 1990s (though less pop and more Pavement than Oasis). I enjoyed it.

A good listen, I like how they commit to a sound, the ballady contemplative aggression, sprawly guitar soundscapes. At times their vocals get pitchy in a distracting way, particularly some of the falsetto moments. But the albums seems to foreshadow the indie guitar stuff that would become so popular in the early 2000's. In fact, I just listened to an album today, from 2022 (Waiting to Spill by The Backseat Lovers), that I wondered whether it would exist without bands like The Verve helping define and popularize that sound.

I was very pleasantly surprised. This is an album I will listen to again and come back to.

I like this album. It definitely feels like it was inspired by and inspired other 90s groups and albums, like U2 and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Good album in its day.

4/5. A bit overblown, and stuck in the 90s, but definitely one of the most impressive and gratifying Brit-pop albums

I’m a huge fan of urban hymns not sure why Iv never listened to this before, it’s also brilliant history the stand out song, but the rest of the album just not quiet the same level of urban hymns.

Don't really know much of The Verve other than Bittersweet Symphony, but I liked this quite a bit. Very psychedelic/Brit-pop sounding. Reminded me a bit of U2, a bit of Oasis, a bit of the Stones, and a few other things mixed in. 4 stars.

Only knew Urban Hymns of the Verve but this is perhaps deeper and goes harder on the theme of someone from the underprivileged north taking on the world. 3.9

It's very good. There's no doubt that Nick McCabe's guitar sounds so good on this.

Solid

these people are so talented I’m not crazy about some of these songs but for the most part it’s really cool - 8/10

A lot better than I anticipated. The space rock touches really did a lot to increase my enjoyment.

This was pretty good. The Verve seem underrated, usually relegated to their one or two big hits. Solid piece of work.

Lower end of a 4. Lacks the bangers of Urban Hymns and all a bit samey

Oh more Bri-ish innit?

looooove apparently shoegaze?

A little disjointed, beat lyrics, neat melodies

First half good, second half kinda depressing at times

liked this album, loved a few songs, others weren't good

I'm listening....

The Verve are always great. Really like their sound and mix of styles

Good one

Great album, would have listened to it before

This bunch of pricks assaulted my nan. Kicked seven shades out of her and left her for dead. Luckily she survived, sought revenge and tracked them all down one by one...and then gave them all hand jobs. Slag.

Boven verwachting goed, maar eigenlijk kende ik The Verve ook helemaal niet goed, dus alles was gebaseerd op vooroordelen en kortzichtigheid.

Positief verrast door deze plaat! Een stuk steviger dan het album wat hierna kwam, met al de bekende hits erop.

Door de nummers die ik al kende (zoals The drugs don’t work), verwachtte ik iets futloos. Gelukkig had ik het mis.

Really enjoyed the various styles throughout the album.

Dachte erst mein Laptop is im Eimer, aber der Song geht erst nach 20sek los. Ab dan 1a geiler BritPop. Habe außer Bitter Sweet Symphony noch nix von den dudes gehört, daher umso glücklicher, dass das Album dabei war. Habs glaub 3 mal gehört jetzt das Album und es wird nicht langweilig. Brainstorm Interlude nervt a weng aber sonst solid. Weil kein Mega Banger drauf war 4*

Good, not greatest

Solid 90s

I liked the music pretty well, though I found some of the extra sounds on the tracks a little strange.

Nice to listen to, maybe will return to

Spotify version is hella long. Good gloomy music, can feel the influence it had. Songs are differentiated well but still very similar across the album. Rainy day perfect.

пойдёт

Gotta say, this was a surprise for me. Everyone and their dad knows "Bittersweet Symphony," but this album seemed to be conscious and deeply rooted alt album that obviously hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Really enjoyed it.

Kind of visceral in a way. Honestly wasn't expecting this kind of album. But I mean, look at that album art, that dude is MAD FIERCE.

I'm gonna be honest, I listened to this while sick. So maybe I'm not the best to judge. I thought it was alright, but it felt a bit pretentious.

5/10 The Verve really exploded in the UK with their third record, Urban Hymns, on which Richard Ashcroft, rather than The Verve as a band, became the principal songwriter. This previous album is much more of a band effort and, from what I understand, is more of a stepping stone between the psychedelic shoegaze sound of their debut and the committed britpop indie of that subsequent record. That halfway-house status is something that is pretty apparent across this slightly sprawling, loosely focused track selection, in which we take in moments of almost art-rock soundscape in tracks like Brainstorm Interlude and Stormy Clouds, while also indulging the more Ashcroft coded tracks like On Your Own and History. These Ashcroft tracks are probably where the album falters for me, as they’re ultimately fairly run of the mill singer-songwriter fare that don’t manage to be particularly eventful or hooky, so just kind of float by, especially in a mix of more sonically interesting washes of noise and effects present on the more invigorating cuts. I can’t pretend to be the biggest fan of Ashcroft’s drawling, slurring vocal delivery that’s a bit of a Liam Gallagher wannabe, but when he dials down that drawl a little and becomes more part of the band, things work a lot better to my ear. At it’s most interesting, this album is weighty, noisy, evolving and sonically large, with shimmering noise and guitars, a pulsing beat and a pinned down bass, while the vocal floats along, drifting in and out of focus as part of a musical whole. There are also moments of more stripped back, subtle evolutions of that fuller style that stretch the vibe into newer directions. Across those more psychedelic and experimental tracks, this has an intriguing, if imperfect musical approach that I did warm to. The biggest problem here is consistency, and it doesn’t feel like all of the band is really pulling in the same direction, resulting in a slightly uneven feel in which neither side of that creative coin is completely satisfied. It’s a bit of a shame, because there is some solid stuff in there, but it’s certainly made me consider taking a listen to their earlier album, even if the direction they would take next was more of a mainstream one, with it’s own approach and charm. A New Decade - This is weightier than I was expecting, and has a bit of a psychedelic edge to it too. I’m not in love with Richard Ashcroft’s drawl of a delivery to be honest, but there’s a patience and bubbling tension from the band that offsets it and makes it a more palatable blend. There is a touch of Radiohead to this in a way that I wasn’t expecting, as well as a slightly more noise/art rock edge that worked really well. Not a bad opener. This Is Music - Again, there’s good weight and atmosphere to this. It’s noisy and has a mid-pace drive that grooves along and gives it solid momentum. The sound design of the soaring guitars emerging from the noise is really effective and I’m settling more into Ashcroft’s vocal when it’s part of a more hectic whole. The whole vibe and tone of this is really good and is more sonically interesting than I think The Verve are often credited with. On Your Own - Now this is more like what I was expecting. Fairly plodding, middle of the road britpop indie. Some of the singing on this is utterly atrocious. This screams “Richard Ashcroft” to me, so there’s no surprise that this was one that he had a large hand in. It’s bland and unexciting. Meh. So It Goes - This is better than the last one, thanks to the more sparse production and some lovely guitar work, underpinned by a solid bass part. It’s got a dreamy feel with a touch of grit that works well. The vocal is probably the weakest part of the track for me. I just don’t really rate the slightly unfocused, roaming nature of the melody and the almost slurred singing style doesn’t do it for me for this kind of material. Bit of a mixed bag. A Northern Soul - Aaah, this is better. It’s back to having weight and leans into noisy psychedelia. Ashcroft’s vocal works way better in a mix of stuff like this. It’s sonically rich and interesting and has a cool groove to the rhythm parts. The push and pull pulse they use is solid and there’s a lot of fun bits of guitar work that give it an almost alien quality. It’s really atmospheric too. Nice. Brainstorm Interlude - The psychedelic soundscape work continues now, but with a more driven beat and even more experimental use of effects. This is good stuff, with a shifting, shimmering wall of sound that weaves and rolls over that persistent and engaging drum groove, punctuated with regular changes in ornamentation and some fun drum fills. It’s noisy as all hell, but it’s all the better for it. Drive You Home - They drop back out into a more traditional song structure now, but it maintains a quality of atmosphere and production that leans back towards shoegaze. There’s some lovely guitar work in this and the shimmering soundscape recalls a sparser echo of the last couple of tracks. It’s relaxed and restrained, and the vocal and lead guitar work share centre stage in a balanced and enjoyable way. History - This track is another example given for the band leaning more towards Richard Ashcroft as principal songwriter. It’s ok, but it lacks the interesting, experimental edge of the better work on the album. Frankly, it’s a fairly middle of the road britpop singer-songwriter effort that’s not part interesting and is quite repetitive. Meh. No Knock On My Door - Similarly to the last track, this is a fairly bland song with a very simple, repetitive structure and no real hooks to speak of. There’s a bit more to the production, and the weight and depth of the instrumentation is a bit better, but ultimately it’s quite bland. Life's An Ocean - This has a decent, if subtle, groove to it. The band and production have a bit more to do again, and there’s a little touch of psychedelia to it that’s quite nice. There’s some quality moments of soundscaping guitar work in the mix here, but it could probably have done with a bit more development and variation to really make it shine, because it’s a bit compositionally thin. Stormy Clouds - We’re back to a song in which the vocals and guitar share prominence now. It’s thick, warm, almost ambient soundscaping in places. Things are slow, but considered, and the evolving tonal palette is enjoyable. A nice, almost shoegaze effort, with enough of a song structure base to keep it centred. (Reprise) - This kind of feels like the last gasp of the old Verve, before they fully committed to Richard Ashcroft as their de facto leader and britpop as their genre of choice on the next album. It’s more shoegazy, experimental instrumental stuff. It’s not bad, and the shimmering, evolving guitar work is very nice, but it doesn’t kind of feel a little uncentred and loosely formed, which is perhaps unsurprising on a track they didn’t even bother giving a proper name to. That being said, I’d take this introspective sound wash noise art stuff over a boring singer songwriter effort any day.

A diverse song collection going from mellow songs of Cantonese and love to discordant songs with reverb from guitars. Sounds "vervish".

It's good but not great. Like a lot of Britpop, it doesn't have a lot of staying power as an album for me personally. A few tracks here and there, sure, but nothing shouts out to me as anything I'd stick on again and again. I enjoyed the shoegaze approach here though, blending the styles rather well and creating something that stands out a little more. Favourite track: History Least favourite track: Brainstorm Interlude

Ultimately I was disappointed with this. You can tell that Urban Hymns was a big step-up in terms of their song-writing chops, while they've yet to really develop here. It's a shame because one of the very early tracks was incredibly atmospheric, with some really nice, deep guitar. After that it all got a bit meandering and droney with no real highlights. It's still not a bad listen, but it's also doing nothing particularly interesting either. 2.5 rounded up.

A good listen. It’s too bad the Rolling Stones eventually stole their thunder.

I had forgotten how ambitious this album sounded and also forgotten that Richard Ashcroft was a pretty good vocalist. Unfortunately, I hadn’t forgotten how long and indulgent this album felt, far outstaying its welcome in my view.

Sometimes I felt like I was listening to U2, but one of their later albums. So The Verve might have done it first. Dragged out a little at the end, but I still liked the sound.

It’s fine if you’re looking for an off brand Radiohead. 2.5⭐️

It's not that it's bad...i just don't see this as a vital album when we already had Urban Hymns.

2.5

Liked the balance between loud and soft songs; the psychedelic-influenced songs reminded me of Jimi Hendrix, and the softer songs had a Pink Floyd-ish sound to them, I thought.

Britpop without any special stuff

No private session for Spotify. I am a huge fan of 90's rock, so of course I like this. It does get a bit self indulgent with the meandering jam, but I like stoner rock, so it still works.

Meh, all sounds the same

5/10 If only the Verve we half as good as Richard Ashcroft thought they were. Lots of blister, but n not a lot of songs.

this was interesting because you could definitely hear how they became the verve of enormous fame, but none of these songs were really very exciting

Decent. But I cannot agree with anyone that says this is better than Urban Hymns.

Listened on: Spotify Listening experience: Protracted, multiple attempts in the car Hadn’t heard any songs off this album - only familiar with Urban Hymns. Love Richard Ashcroft’s voice. This would have been one of those albums from the 90s where you bought it unknown and then listened to it until you liked it. A point off for the fucking fade in. Why? How do I know how loud to put the volume? Has it started? Is there something wrong with my stereo? Stop.

better than people made it out to be but I wouldn't call it great

So very uk so very 90’s. I kind of dig it but was never my number 1 jam

Well, I actually had to think about this record as I listened I tried to think about where this record fits in this particular 90s period. Sure it is far less psychedelic thsn the Verve’s debut, it does evoke at various points Oasis lite, it certainly is not The Stone Roses. It is a rock record that, given the lyrics of Richard Ashcroft who does a particularly excellent job of letting emotion bleed through, is at its core a messy breakup record. Here you have two dynamics at play - Ashcroft’s breakup with his long term girlfriend and the band breaking a part as 3/4 of them are drug addicted. Sonically rich and effective the album is enjoyable and interesting but I’m not sure that it rises above average. When compared to records put out the same year - Smashing Pumpkins released Melon Collie, Radiohead released the Bends and the Stone Roses released Second Coming - The Verve record is definitely 2nd tier. Solid but ultimately average. 3/5

A difficult one, as it's not bad, but also not something I can see myself returning to. The sound is quite wearing after a while, and the album is too long

En mellanskiva i utvecklingen från det tidiga shoegazelarmet till de fullt utvecklade popmelodierna på Urban hymns. Jag föredrar både det som var innan och det som kom efter, framför den här. Men en liten trea kan den ändå få.

i was sleeping through this mostly cuz im traveling. HOWEVER, the songs did finish while awake are pretty good. ill re review it at a later time but for now 3.5/5 i have a soft for nu-metal and nu-metal adjacent sounds

Very enjoyable but didn’t blow my mind

It's not the best offering from the Verve. Ashcrofts voice is decent on this an dot offers Hazy guitars and flowing rhythm but doesn't quite hot the mark.

2.5/5

It’s good but nothing special. Almost boring. Nothing stands out.