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Forth

The Verve

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iTunes Review

Forget what you know about Verve singer Richard Ashcroft’s solo career and remember the most hypnotic moments of the Verve’s mid-‘90s output, and 2008’s Forth is exactly the “comeback” this British quartet always had in them. They’re picking up where they left off — in search of the eternal buzz. And they locate it with the sweet feedback of Nick McCabe’s guitar as it escalates in intensity while drummer Peter Salisbury and bassist Simon Jones settle into bedrock rhythms that never falter. The opening seven-minute cut, “Sit and Wonder”, sets the schematic. Nothing will rush these boys, so it’s best to lie back and let the music wash over you. “Love is Noise” speeds the tempo slightly and is the closest the group comes to pure pop territory with its naggingly catchy chorus.  With “Rather Be”, Ashcroft evokes Jim Morrison and Julian Cope with a psychedelic blues that spells ominous doom. Elsewhere, the group indulges its dreamy side with the slow burn majesty of “Judas”, the subdued chaos of “Numbness”, the creepy piano menace of “I See Houses”, and the sublime meditation of the album’s closer “Appalachian Springs”.

Customer Reviews

The Verve: Forth (2008)

Upon reading the reviews for this album in the likes of Q and Mojo, I was shocked to see the mediocrity of the album the reviews seemed to suggest, considering the strength of its predecessor, Urban Hymns, the Verve’s best album by far. I am one of the very few people who seem to have heard Love Is Noise and actually liked it, most people stated it ‘wasn’t like their old stuff’, to which my response was ‘That was eleven years ago!’ I’ve listened to this album now, and I like it very much, as it is a strong album, but slightly disappointed. It seems the depression of the early verve stuff has reprised in this album. Eleven years after the rocky optimism of Urban Hymns; where the band seemed to find the perfect balance between psychedelic sounds and commercially viable anthemic melody, it seems the band have taken a massive step BACKWARDS. The sense that the Verve had grown into a great rock band almost seems to be a long gone phase. And now the Verve have returned to their old style, which is hardly what the public nowadays want to hear. Now I have got that off my chest, I can now explain why I like this album! The bass on the album sounds incredible, at least that’s what I think. The production here is good, and the bass is so amplified, it’s like Simon Jones is playing ‘Life’s An Ocean’ on every track. His basslines continue to groove through ‘Noise Epic’ and ‘Columbo’. It opens strongly with ‘Sit and Wonder’, a sharp, catchy, near 7 minute jam which lightened up my evenings hearing it in summer concerts. ‘Love Is Noise’ which is the lead single, a good modern anthem is one of the highlights of the album. The piano-led track ‘Rather Be’ is as close this album gets to the Urban Hymns-sound evoked those years ago, somewhat similar to ‘This Time’. Then the album seems to rise into the psychedelic level, with the ‘A Storm In Heaven’ sounding ‘Judas’, where Ashcroft’s vocal range goes high like the early days. The mood of the album then takes a complete dip with ‘Numbness’ (sounds similar to the B-sides of the Urban Hymns singles like Country Song, and The Longest Day) and ‘I See Houses’, how very oblique. Then, from nowhere, comes ‘Noise Epic’, its self explanatory. Never going to be anybody’s favourite Verve tune but at least it picks up the pace and rhythm, part of what we’ve missed from The Verve since ‘The Rolling People’. Seems somewhat after 6 minutes, you feel the apocalypse happening around you. ‘Valium Skies’ follows this, completely reversing the chaos of the track before it and again feeling as if you’re suspended in the sky, but high on drugs at the same time. Uplifting yet very calm, like ‘Velvet Morning’ perhaps. ‘Columbo’ is somewhat like the last two tracks combined, with a groovy bassline, similar to a jam, but again slightly uneasy in places. ‘Appalachian Springs’ is one of my favourites on the album, meditative mainly, but seems down to earth at the same time as its easy to pick up the beat of the song in places. More of an epic, but it’s hardly ‘Come On’, to those of you expecting it. Either way, whether you look at it as a Verve album, or as Urban Hymns Part II, you won’t be overwhelmingly satisfied, but it’s a decent album and deserves it’s place in the catalogue of a truly great band.

True to their roots, back on top form

Only heard this the once and straight away, it has a feel of being the "real" Verve to me. Calling on the earlier recordings, this optimizes the true sound that Verve crafted back in the early nineties with A Storm in Heaven and A Northern Soul. Less concentration on anthemic pop songs and more on melody, craft and just a looser feel which I can totally appreciate. It's a good album. Give it a few listens and I guarantee it will stick in your head for days!

British Music at it's best

Great to see one of the best British bands on top of their game again, highlight of T in The Park this year and had to get the album as soon as it was out having already heard some of the new stuff! total winner, Sit and Wonder is a great tune to start the album. Ewen Aberdeen

Biography

Formed: 1989 in Wigan, England

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '90s, '00s

Long acclaimed as one of the most innovative and spellbinding bands on the contemporary British pop scene, the Verve finally broke through to a mass international audience in 1997 with the instant classic "Bittersweet Symphony." By no stretch a study in overnight success, the group's rise was instead the culmination of a long, arduous journey that began at the dawn of the decade and went on to encompass a major breakup, multiple lawsuits, and an extensive diet of narcotics. Perfecting an oceanic...
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