nosmiles disagrees: Their delightful 'I want to be Nirvana' sound wears thin after the first song. Singer, Craig Nicholls, tries to expand his vocal range more than he should. As well, the band itself destroys the idea of adhesiveness and tries to touch every genre imaginable. Regardless of the sound, each song manages to rip-off at least one other band. When the Vines aren't sounding like Nirvana ("Get Fee"), they sound like the Beatles ("Factory"). Or better yet, like Local H sounding like Nirvana ("Country Yard").

Now, I do realize that most punky/rocky/grungy bands end up sounding like Nirvana, but Nicholl's voice just makes the entire band seem like a replication. "Ain't No Room" is a darling little song with decent lyrics and a decent sound. I must say that it is the vocals that destroy this among the other songs. "Country Yard" does contain more singing than screaming and the result is rather lovely. Well, once you're about a minute into the song. The beginning sounds dreadfully over-done and predictable.

The music is wonderful though. For what the band is doing, it is raw and ripe with talent. I mean, it's nothing extraordinary but they pull off what they are trying to do. Albeit, they try a little bit too hard. However, the effort pulls through and each song is different. Albeit, a little bit too different. "Factory" brings back the horrid memories of Offspring's "Why Don't You Get A Job" and both are Beatles-wannabe songs. Luckily, the Vines do put their own personal touch to the chorus of the song. It is not enough to save the song nor the rest of the album. Humans like balance and cohesiveness and it seems as though the Vines do not.

I was grateful for the fact that the entire album did not sound like "Get Free." Just the same, I was joyed to know that the first single wasn't the only song of that type on the album (one of my biggest peeves). "Highly Evolved" is similar to this single. It's a tad heavy, screamy vocals, and catchy lots. I consider this song to be the perfect balance and practically the median of this album.

No, not all of the songs are terrible, but a clear majority are. I suggest mp3-ing the three good ones and saving your $10.

Best Aspect: Rock
Worst Aspect: You can't mix apples & oranges
Yay: Highly Evolved, Ain't No Room
Nay: Factory, In The Jungle
The hits: Get Free
Similar: Nirvana, Radish, Local H
Style: Revived grunge rock