It’s no coincidence that The Vines come from the country that brought us Neighbours, Home And Away and a host of other terrible(/y addictive) soaps. The Vines’ story is just as (melo-)dramatic: their entrance with 2002’s anthem ‘Get Free’ knocked everyone sideways, but slowly their erratic live performances caused the tide to turn against them. Their lowest ebb came with what should have been a triumphant hometown gig in Sydney in 2004, which descended into chaos when frontman Craig Nicholls went apeshit onstage resulting in an empty slot where the bassist used to be and an attendant lawsuit.
The reason for the outburst? Nicholls has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism.
But just as we had accepted their demise and carried on with the show, lo and behold: they appear as if from nowhere with Vision Valley, and the news that Nicholls’ ongoing treatment has allowed him to return to the studio after all. Which brings us up to speed for the current episode.
And what happens in this half-hour segment? There’s surf-tastic scenes that come across like The Beach Boys might after a bottle of Absinthe (‘Don’t Listen To The Radio’). There’s moments of Bowiesque space oddity (‘Vision Valley’ and epic closer ‘Spaceship’) and others that sound like nothing but the raucous Vines we know and love (‘Gross Out’ and ‘Fuk Yeh’).
As a whole, it impresses hugely. The attention to detail is far greater than you feel entitled to expect, given that they’ve had to overcome much adveristy to make the album at all. Even better that it contains none of the mopey sentimentality that generally tags along in such circumstances. This is not just a return to form, it’s the happy ending that a story like this cries out for.