United Nations of Sound

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Rebounding from the dissolution of the Verve’s reunion — not too difficult a task considering he instigated the split — Richard Ashcroft assembled the United Nations of Sound, a group that at the very least shook him free from the drowsy strumming of his proper solo efforts. RPA & the United Nations of Sound is painted on a larger canvas than any of those albums, attempting to approximate the cinematic grandeur of the Verve by using a different palette. Ashcroft swaps out psychedelia and guitars in favor of very, very bright surfaces, hippie sentiments, surging sampled strings, melodies that are just shy of being insistent, and a rhythmic trick bag stolen from the rave era. Apart from the loops soaring so high they touch a skyscraper, all of these signatures are items the Verve deliberately eschewed during their heyday.