CDs Revisited: The Vines - 'Vision Valley'

I forgot that I even owned this one. I have nothing personal against The Vines, but they really knew how to fall off of everyone's radars. Did you know that they've released six studio albums? And that their sixth album was a double album released just three years ago? Or that they have a seventh album in the works? And finally, did you even know they were still together? I'd just assumed the answer to all of those questions was a firm "no."

But less about what the band is doing now, and let me focus on what they've done in the past. Like most people my age, I enjoyed Highly Evolved when it first came out because it, along with White Blood Cells, Is This It?, and Veni, Vidi, Vicious, were all the rage. The garage rock revival was in full swing, and being young and impressionable I held on tightly. A few years later when Winning Days was released, I bought it because I felt a loyalty to the band (I also got Room on Fire and Elephant upon their releases), but outside of "Ride" I thought it was kind of a letdown, but I paid money for it dammit, so I forced myself to listen to it until I thought I enjoyed it.

I assume that Vision Valley came into my possession in a similar way- out of loyalty to one of the bands that I liked when I first started really listening to music. Listening to it now, I barely remember this album outside of the comically titled single "Don't Listen to the Radio." It's not terrible, but it's not memorable either. After listening to the album, I realized I've already forgotten what most of the songs sounded like. This is probably why I forgot that I ever bought this album in the first place. I don't think it does anything to ruin the band's image- if anything it kind of sums up the image I have about The Vines in my head: Not terribly offensive, but not terrific either. Just kind of there.

Final verdict: It feels wrong to say that I hate this, but I certainly don't love it. Make of that what will.

If I made it sound appealing enough, you can stream it below via Spotify or check it out on Amazon.


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