The Vines | Winning Days | Rating: 9.25/11 | Reviewed by: Melissa Lozano |
Released: March 23, 2004
The contagious enthusiastic sound of “Ride” kicks the Vines’ latest Capitol Records effort Winning Days, a follow-up to the band’s debut hit Highly Evolved. The album is a complete rollercoaster ride of melodic sounds laced within the first three tracks and diced into “She’s Got Something To Say To Me,” as well as hard throat-wrenching screams in “Animal Machine” and the album’s last and most electrically rasp track, “F.T.W.” Craig Nicholls and band mates Patrick Matthews (bass), Ryan Griffiths (guitar), and Hamish Rosser (drummer) keep true to the Vines rough garage sound but throw in some “slow rides” to pleasure the tamed fans. “Autumn Shade II,” “Rainfall” and “Sun Child” show off Nicholls’ command over his voice. Who knows where Craig was mentally when he wrote all of the songs, but you’re taken there with each spin of the album.
Winning Days gets its title off a middle track that’s one of the sharpest contrasts on the album. The harmonious attributes put you in an optimistic mood while the lyrics remain pessimistic. The aesthetic feel of the track perfectly sums up the album’s overall worth.