The Vines Vision Valley. Release Date : April 4, 2006. Label: Capitol. Rating: Resurrected. (Screw points. To each his own!) The Vines are back! This new album seems significantly calmer on the whole than we've seen them in the past. Although previous efforts included raging rockers as well as poppy surf ballads, this album is entirely in a middle zone between the two. Croony oldschool vocals and harmonies, classic melodies, and occasional well-placed wails whip this one nicely into shape. In the first song, Craig Nicholls sounds a lot like vintage Perry Farrell. The middle hunk of the album has a series of dark slow songs, and I wonder how much of his inspiration was drawn from his tumultuous health history. Strings even. Strings! It's hard to imagine that band who had that video where they were all yelling and getting whacked by lightning bolts, playing a soft song filled with strings. but here they are. But even the louder songs sound like 50's greaser tunes - pre-punk let's call it. "F*k Yeh" lets loose with some of the familiar Nicholls freak outs, but even here they're few and far between. No more entire-unintelligble-song lyrics. Appropriately, the last track has a very-classic-rock space-like name, and is just a long twirly jamout, also as found in classic rock. Pretty enjoyable listen, definitely a little left of what's really in right now, though I admit, I liked the major freakout songs of yore the best. Song of choice : "Don't Listen To The Radio" is fun. Great tune. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere The Vines website Published : January, 2007.