The Vines (band)
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The Vines are an Australian
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 1994. Their sound has been described as a musical hybrid of 1960s
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
and 1990s
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
. The band has been through several line-up changes, with vocalist/guitarist
Craig Nicholls Craig Robert Nicholls (born 31 August 1977) is an Australian musician, best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Australian alternative rock band The Vines, of which he is the sole continuous member. Early life Nicholls ...
serving as the sole constant throughout the band's history. The Vines' success in the Australian recording industry resulted in winning the
ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single The ARIA Music Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1989 through to 2009 and 2011. This, and the ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Album was merged in 2012 t ...
for "
Get Free Get Free may refer to: * "Get Free" (The Vines song), 2002 * "Get Free" (Major Lazer song), 2013 * "Get Free" (Lana Del Rey song), 2017 * "Get Free", a 2011 song by Scream from '' Complete Control Recording Sessions'' See also * "Freedom Dan ...
" and receiving five other nominations for their debut album ''
Highly Evolved ''Highly Evolved'' is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 14 July 2002 on Capitol Records. Produced by Rob Schnapf, known for his collaboration with Tom Rothrock on Elliott Smith's album ...
'', plus two further nominations in subsequent years. In 2003, the album went
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
in Australia, and since then the band has released four albums and a best-of compilation from their time at
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
. The Vines have released seven studio albums to date.


History


1994–2000: Formation and early years

The original line-up of Rishikesh formed in Sydney in 1994 when vocalist and lead guitarist Craig Nicholls and bass guitarist
Patrick Matthews Youth Group is an Australian rock band based in Newtown, New South Wales. Built around the vocals of singer Toby Martin and production of Wayne Connolly, the sound of Youth Group is reminiscent of indie rock artists such as Teenage Fanclub, Pa ...
met whilst working at their local
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
in the suburb of South Hurstville,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. They were soon joined by Matthews' school friend
David Olliffe David Vincent Olliffe (born 3 November 1975) is an Australian musician, and the former drummer of The Vines. During the recordings of the band's debut album, ''Highly Evolved ''Highly Evolved'' is the debut studio album by Australian alte ...
on drums. The name "Rishikesh", suggested by Olliffe, refers to the Indian city where
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
visited an
ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
in 1968. The local newspapers regularly misprinted the name as "Rishi Chasms", so Nicholls suggested a new name, "the Vines", as an homage to his father, who fronted a local band called the Vynes. The group started performing
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
and
You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...
covers at backyard parties while developing their sound on Nicholls' four-track recorder. Over the next few years, the Vines gigged infrequently and remained relatively unknown, even in their hometown, yet by the beginning of 2001 they had amassed a repertoire of over thirty songs. On the strength of their demo, Rex Records put out what was to be their first single, "
Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
", as a limited seven-inch single. The release became ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'''s Single of the Week in November 2001.


2001–2003: ''Highly Evolved''

In July 2001, the band flew to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to start recording their debut album, ''
Highly Evolved ''Highly Evolved'' is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 14 July 2002 on Capitol Records. Produced by Rob Schnapf, known for his collaboration with Tom Rothrock on Elliott Smith's album ...
'', with
Rob Schnapf Rob Schnapf is an American record producer and musician. He was the co-producer (along with Tom Rothrock) of Elliott Smith's albums ''Either/Or'', '' XO'' (on which he also played guitar on the song " Baby Britain"), ''Figure 8'' and ''From a ...
. David Olliffe was replaced a few months later as a result of increasing record company interest, and the band had sessions with drummers such as
Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronker w ...
. Their debut single, "Factory" was released in November 2001 in the UK and gained a good response in the press, with the ''NME'' describing their garage rock sound as "of the oldest school". The band then signed to
Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...
in the UK in December 2001 and
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
in Australia in April 2002. The single "Highly Evolved" earned them more critical acclaim as ''NME'' made it a single of the week in March 2002. The single charted in the UK at number 32 on the singles chart and on Australia's
ARIAnet The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...
top 100 singles chart. The band appeared on the cover of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' in October 2002 (the first Australian band to do so since
Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Coli ...
in 1983) with the words "Rock is Back: Meet the Vines" boldly emblazoned underneath. Referred to as the 'The' bands,
the Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...
,
the Hives The Hives are a Swedish rock band that rose to prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the album ''Veni Vidi Vicious'', containing the single "Hate to Say I Told You So". T ...
,
the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
, and the Vines combined "old fashioned punk and adrenaline fuelled riffs" to be ushered in at the beginning of 2002 as the "saviors of rock". The release of the album saw more critical success, with the band appearing on the cover of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. The album reached number 11 in the U.S.
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
Hot 100 albums chart. The band played high-profile slots on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'' and the
MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
. Several more singles were released from the album, including "Get Free" and "Outtathaway!". A fourth single, "Homesick", was released in Australia only. The band won the
ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single The ARIA Music Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1989 through to 2009 and 2011. This, and the ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Album was merged in 2012 t ...
for "Get Free" in
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, and were nominated for five other awards. ''Highly Evolved'' sold 1.5 million copies throughout the world with distribution through
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
. By end of 2003, the album went
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
in Australia. Craig Nicholls realised while touring for the promotion of their debut album, ''Highly Evolved'' (July 2002), that they needed an additional guitarist. So Nicholls asked his longtime friend and schoolmate Ryan Griffiths to join. In May 2003, the band went into a studio in
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
with Rob Schnapf again on production. While Craig Nicholls had talked of having a highly produced album, he told the Australian edition of ''Rolling Stone'' in March 2004 that they decided to stick to a less-is-more philosophy. "I wanted it to be – in my head – something grand, with big ideas and that vision sort of thing. But at the same time, that doesn't mean that something can't be special if it's just simple. Because I think that the songs are the main thing".


2004–2005: ''Winning Days''

Their second album, ''
Winning Days ''Winning Days'' is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines, and was released on 23 March 2004 It is the follow-up to their debut, ''Highly Evolved''. The enhanced CD has the music video for "Ride". ''Winning Day ...
'', was released on 29 March 2004 and rose to number 23 in the US. "Ride" and "Winning Days" were released as singles in Australia (where they did not chart) and the UK.


2006–2007: ''Vision Valley''

In mid-2005, the group announced they were working on their third album, with producer
Wayne Connolly Wayne Paul Connolly is an Australian musician, record producer and audio engineer. From 1991 to 1997 Connolly provided lead guitar and vocals in guitar pop group the Welcome Mat, with whom he released two studio albums. In 1994, he formed Knie ...
.
Andy Kent Andrew Charles Kent (born 1969) is the bass player for Australian rock band You Am I.Spencer et al, (2007Kent, Andyentry. Retrieved 3 February 2010.Spencer et al, (2007You Am Ientry. Retrieved 4 February 2010. Biography Andy Kent was born in We ...
of fellow Australian band You Am I filled in on bass playing duties. In November of that year, the band's management announced they had finished recording all the songs that would appear on the album. " Don't Listen to the Radio" was released as the album's first single, and was made available for digital download on 7 March on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
. The song was used on the soundtrack for the video game ''
FlatOut 2 ''FlatOut 2'' is an action racing video game developed by Bugbear Entertainment and published by Empire Interactive in Europe and Vivendi Universal Games in North America. It is the sequel to the 2004 game ''FlatOut''. This game is themed mor ...
''. "Gross Out" was made available for digital download on 18 March, and was the first song leaked from the album. ''
Vision Valley ''Vision Valley'' is the third studio album by Australian rock band The Vines. It was released on 1 April 2006 through EMI Records. It is the band's first album without bass guitarist Patrick Matthews who left the band in 2004. Recording and ...
'' was released on 1 April 2006 in Australia, 3 April in Europe, and 4 April in the United States. ''Vision Valley'' consisted of short, immediate songs; the album running little over 30 minutes in length. "
Anysound "Anysound" is a rock music, rock song by The Vines (band), The Vines from their 2006 album ''Vision Valley''. The song's video, directed by Michel Gondry, involves puppets. It was played in episode 21 in season 3 of ''The O.C.'' It has also appea ...
" was the second official single from the album, and an animated music video was released exclusively through
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. The song was included as a track heard on the in-game radio in the 2007
LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as ...
published Thrillville: Off The Rails. "Dope Train" was released as a third single, with a music video composed of live footage of the band from Big Day Out in 2007. On 19 July 2006, the Vines played a gig at the Annandale Hotel under the name "Joe Dirt", with a new bassist, Brad Heald, after Patrick Matthews departed the group. Matthews had left in response to an outburst Nicholls had while the group played a promotional show for
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...
radio.


2008: ''Melodia''

In 2007, the Vines signed to
Ivy League Records Ivy League Records is a record label based in Sydney, Australia. History Ivy League Records is an Australian-based record label established in 1997 by three ex-musician friends: Pete Lusty (John Reed Club) (RIP), Andy Cassell (Youth Group) an ...
for an Australian album deal. The first single preceding the album '' Melodia'' was "He's a Rocker", which was released through iTunes on 3 June 2008 along with two bonus tracks. "MerryGoRound" was released as a follow-up single for radio airplay in Australia during August 2008. "MerryGoRound" only received support and backing from
Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
radio. "Get Out" was released as the third single from ''Melodia'' in September 2008 for radio airplay, and a music video was released to coincide with the release of "Get Out" as a single by Ivy League Records on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. "Get Out" was featured on the in-game soundtrack of '' Midnight Club: Los Angeles'' released in late October 2008 on
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
gaming platforms. In October 2008, the Vines commenced a national Australian tour in support of ''Melodia'', playing small venues throughout Australia. In November 2008, the Vines were announced as being part of the line-up for the 2009 Australian Big Day Out, but the band cancelled.


2009–2012: ''Future Primitive''

On 14 November 2009, the Vines played at the Annandale Hotel, under the alias of the Crimes. They had a support slot with You Am I, playing their back catalogue and a new song from an album due in 2011. The Vines recorded in early 2010. They also played gigs that year, including a set at the Annandale Hotel on 23 June where they debuted new songs "Future Primitive", "Gimme Love", and "Black Dragon". They also played Splendour in the Grass on 1 August and Singfest, a Singapore music festival on 5 August. At the start of September, they supported
Powderfinger Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer ...
at the first four shows of their farewell tour. A music video for "Gimme Love" wrapped filming on 1 March 2011, with the completed video surfacing online through YouTube on 27 March. The music video pays homage to the 2010 film '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World''. Over a year after its completion, ''Future Primitive'' received an official release date through ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' on 3 June 2011. Because the Vines did not have a label at the time of recording, the band members funded the album's recording themselves. Upon the album's completion, the band approached various record labels to see if any were interested in signing the band for its release, explaining the year-long delay between recording and release. In May 2011, the Vines played on-stage with
the Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford ...
at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney for the song "It's a Fast-Driving Rave-Up with The Dandy Warhols". The two bands had previously had dinner at the Warhols' studio The Odditorium in 2004, along with the bands Jet and
the Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...
. In an interview with
Music Feeds ''Music Feeds'' is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine (street press) established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia. It is distributed electronically every second Tuesday, with additional material posted on the website r ...
at
Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near B ...
2011, Nicholls talked about a late 2011 or early 2012 release date for their still unnamed sixth album. On 26 November 2011, rumours on the band's
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page suggested that the band had "pushed out" two of its members. At the 2011 Homebake music festival, the Vines emerged on the main-stage as a three piece, consisting of Nicholls, Heald and drummer Murray Sheridan. The departure of both Griffiths and Rosser was confirmed by
Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...
presenter
Jane Gazzo Jane Gazzo is an Australian television presenter, radio presenter, performance and club DJ, television personality, voice artist, author, and music journalist. Early life and education Gazzo was born and raised in Melbourne and is the daughter ...
, who wrote that the two had been "sacked" in a
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
post. Craig's sister, Jess Nicholls, also confirmed their departure via the band's official forum. "If any of you were at Homebake yesterday, I'm sure you can agree the set was amazing and sounded better than ever," she wrote. "The band has made a creative decision to revert back to a three piece, as they originally started. I know you will probably have a lot of questions but just wanted to say don't fear, this is in no way the end of the Vines!!" Nicholls, Heald and Sheridan performed again at Southbound music festival in Perth on 8 January 2012. On 16 March 2012, Rosser announced that he had joined Australian rock band
Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...
, as their new drummer, on the ''Faster Louder'' website. He also claimed that the band had "broken up," although "Craig ichollswill always write great music in the future and he may choose to carry on under the Vines' name."


2012–2015: ''Wicked Nature''

On 30 March 2012, the Vines' Facebook page changed its profile picture to a single previously unseen promotional photo of Nicholls, implying that he was the only remaining member of the band. Heald confirmed his departure from the band in 2012. A new line-up, consisting of Nicholls, drummer Lachlan West and bassist Tim John, entered the studio to record their sixth album on 20 August 2012 in Sydney's 301 Studio and completed the mixing of the album at the end of 2012. On 18 April 2013, the band's management, Parker & Mr French, announced via their Tumblr page that "the new record from the Vines is definitely on the way". Additionally, "2013 has the Vines sixth album in the incubator and an announcement coming about a new and the first collaborative side project from Craig Nicholls." was written on the band's own section of the Parker & Mr French Tumblr page. West revealed in a June 2013 interview with his other band, Something With Numbers, that two producers have worked on the forthcoming Vines release.
Paul McKercher Paul McKercher is an Australian record producer, audio engineer, sound mixer and multi-instrumentalist. He has received five ARIA Artisan Awards and has produced over 50 albums. McKercher has worked with Australian artists Josh Pyke, Ber ...
produced the first half of the record and Lachlan Mitchell, who also produced the latest Something With Numbers record, worked on the second half based upon West's recommendation to Nicholls. The article also stated that the new Vines album was "due for release in the latter half of this year (2013)". However, the year passed with no new material from the band or news as to when the album would be released. On 3 June 2014, a new press shot featuring the new line-up was uploaded to the band's official Facebook page, as well as a new cover photo containing an updated version of the band's original logo. According to a June 2014 ''Faster Louder'' article, in addition to the anticipated sixth album, a seventh album was recorded with the new line-up. At the beginning of July 2014, the Vines created a
PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
page for their sixth record ''
Wicked Nature ''Wicked Nature'' is the sixth studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 2 September 2014. The double album is the band's first release under their own label Wicked Nature Music. The release marks a few mile ...
'', a double album which was released on 2 September 2014. The lead single "Metal Zone" was released on 14 July. Its music video premiered on Noisy on 11 July. In spring of 2015, it was announced that Craig Nicholls started a side project called White Shadows, which focused on
electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...
music. A debut album for the project, titled '' Secret of Life'', was later released that year. Its lead single, "Give Up Give Out Give In", was released on 9 April 2015 with a music video produced. The album featured over 70 different guest musicians.


2016–2018: ''In Miracle Land'' and classic line-up reunion

On 25 March 2016, the band changed their profile picture on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
to the band's logo. Along with this came a new post featuring a picture of
Craig Nicholls Craig Robert Nicholls (born 31 August 1977) is an Australian musician, best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Australian alternative rock band The Vines, of which he is the sole continuous member. Early life Nicholls ...
in the studio playing guitar with the caption "Album #7 coming soon..." On 1 April 2016, the first single "In Miracle Land" was released. In October 2016, the band played three shows in Australia for the 'In Miracle Land' Tour in support of the upcoming album of the same name. During the tour, the band debuted new songs "Hate the Sound", "I Wanna Go Down", "Broken Heart", "Sky Gazer" and "Gone Wander". The title track has yet to be performed live. In June 2017, it was announced that ''Highly Evolved'' was to be reissued on vinyl to coincide with its 15th anniversary. In May 2018, The Vines' official Facebook page announced that The Vines would be joining Jet as the opener for the two Sydney dates of their ''
Get Born ''Get Born'' is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Jet. It was released on 14 September 2003 and has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. The album includes Jet's most popular song, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". Writing and recording ...
'' anniversary tour. With the announcement came the news that the shows would be with the line-up of Nicholls, Matthews, Griffiths and Rosser. The shows marked Matthews' first with The Vines in 14 years, and the first in seven years for Griffiths and Rosser. On 31 May 2018, it was announced via Facebook that the album ''
In Miracle Land ''In Miracle Land'' is the seventh studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 29 June 2018 and was the band's second release under their own label Wicked Nature Music. Background On 25 March 2016, the band po ...
'' would be released 29 June 2018. It featured the same line-up as ''Wicked Nature''. The Vines have not performed live or given any updates on the band since late 2018. In December 2021, Australian producer Ryan Miller – who produced ''In Miracle Land'' – confirmed via Instagram that he is working on a new record with Nicholls. It is currently unknown whether this will be a solo record from Nicholls, or a new record under The Vines' name. To date, Ryan Miller shared snippets of two new songs by Craig Nicholls, but declared that the material is "out of his hands". There are no official plans for a release yet.


Musical style

Ex-bassist Matthews believed that ''Winning Days'' was a step in a different direction for the band. "The themes are more introspective and less wild rock'n'roll". Their music also was described by
Chart Attack ''Chart Attack'' was a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called ''Chart'', it was published from 1991 to 2009. While the web version appears to be available online, the domain is now used as a popular media outle ...
as having "neo-psychedelic arrangements".


Reception

Upon the release of their debut album, the Vines were hailed as "the second coming of Nirvana" by the British press; their grungy sound was considered reminiscent of the Seattle scene circa 1991 and Nicholls' erratic on-stage behaviour and raw vocals drew comparisons between him and Kurt Cobain. ''Highly Evolved'' became a huge success and their accompanying live shows in the early years were praised as "electrifying" and "sensational". Critical reactions to 2004's ''Winning Days'' were mixed.
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
's Chris Ott described it as being "nothing more than boring and harmlessly vapid" and showing "only mild promise". Conversely, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'''
David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
said it was "a leap forward in style and frenzy".
In June 2021, Double J's Al Newstead wrote an
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
in support of the band. "Their legacy isn’t clean cut," he wrote, "but it’s still remarkable to see what The Vines achieved, and chiefly what Nicholls survived."


Activism

In 2006, the Vines created a decorated heart card to benefit
PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
. In 2007, the group joined the organisation in calling for an end to Canada's seal hunt.


Band members

;Current members *
Craig Nicholls Craig Robert Nicholls (born 31 August 1977) is an Australian musician, best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Australian alternative rock band The Vines, of which he is the sole continuous member. Early life Nicholls ...
– lead vocals, lead guitar (1994–present) ;Former members * David Olliffe – drums (1994–2002) *
Patrick Matthews Youth Group is an Australian rock band based in Newtown, New South Wales. Built around the vocals of singer Toby Martin and production of Wayne Connolly, the sound of Youth Group is reminiscent of indie rock artists such as Teenage Fanclub, Pa ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals (1994–2004, 2018) *
Hamish Rosser Hamish Rosser (born 16 May 1974) is an Australian rock musician. He is best known for his time in The Vines and his current position in Wolfmother. Early life Hamish’s musical journey began when he took up the guitar at the age of eight. B ...
– drums, backing vocals (2002–2011, 2018) *
Ryan Griffiths Ryan Griffiths may refer to: *Ryan Griffiths (guitarist) Ryan Griffiths (born 14 February 1978) is an Australian musician. From March 2002 to December 2011 he was a member of garage rock band, The Vines. Craig Nicholls, who founded the group, ...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002–2011, 2018) * Brad Heald – bass guitar, backing vocals (2006–2012) * Lachlan West – drums, backing vocals (2012–2018) * Tim John – bass guitar, backing vocals (2012–2018) ;Former session/touring musicians * Andy Kent – bass guitar (2006) * Murray Sheridan – drums (2011–2012)


Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:300 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:120 top:0 right:30 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1994 till:31/12/2018 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines value:black legend:Studio albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1994 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1994 LineData = at:14/07/2002 color:black layer:back at:23/03/2004 color:black layer:back at:01/04/2006 color:black layer:back at:12/07/2008 color:black layer:back at:03/06/2011 color:black layer:back at:02/09/2014 color:black layer:back at:29/06/2018 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Craig text:"Craig Nicholls" bar:Ryan text:"Ryan Griffiths" bar:Patrick text:"Patrick Matthews" bar:Brad text:"Brad Heald" bar:Tim text:"Tim John" bar:David text:"David Olliffe" bar:Hamish text:"Hamish Rosser" bar:Lachlan text:"Lachlan West" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Craig from:01/01/1994 till:end color:Vocals bar:Craig from:01/01/1994 till:end color:guitar width:3 bar:Ryan from:20/08/2002 till:03/12/2011 color:guitar bar:Ryan from:14/05/2018 till:01/06/2018 color:guitar bar:Ryan from:20/08/2002 till:03/12/2011 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Ryan from:14/05/2018 till:01/06/2018 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Patrick from:01/01/1994 till:27/05/2004 color:bass bar:Patrick from:14/05/2018 till:01/06/2018 color:bass bar:Patrick from:01/01/1994 till:27/05/2004 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Patrick from:14/05/2018 till:01/06/2018 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Brad from:19/07/2006 till:14/08/2012 color:bass bar:Brad from:19/07/2006 till:14/08/2012 color:bvocals width:3 bar:David from:01/01/1994 till:14/07/2002 color:drums bar:Hamish from:20/08/2002 till:03/12/2011 color:drums bar:Hamish from:14/05/2018 till:01/06/2018 color:drums bar:Lachlan from:14/08/2012 till:14/05/2018 color:drums bar:Lachlan from:14/08/2012 till:14/05/2018 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Tim from:14/08/2012 till:14/05/2018 color:bass bar:Tim from:14/08/2012 till:14/05/2018 color:bvocals width:3


Discography

* ''
Highly Evolved ''Highly Evolved'' is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 14 July 2002 on Capitol Records. Produced by Rob Schnapf, known for his collaboration with Tom Rothrock on Elliott Smith's album ...
'' (2002) * ''
Winning Days ''Winning Days'' is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines, and was released on 23 March 2004 It is the follow-up to their debut, ''Highly Evolved''. The enhanced CD has the music video for "Ride". ''Winning Day ...
'' (2004) * ''
Vision Valley ''Vision Valley'' is the third studio album by Australian rock band The Vines. It was released on 1 April 2006 through EMI Records. It is the band's first album without bass guitarist Patrick Matthews who left the band in 2004. Recording and ...
'' (2006) * '' Melodia'' (2008) * '' Future Primitive'' (2011) * ''
Wicked Nature ''Wicked Nature'' is the sixth studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 2 September 2014. The double album is the band's first release under their own label Wicked Nature Music. The release marks a few mile ...
'' (2014) * ''
In Miracle Land ''In Miracle Land'' is the seventh studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 29 June 2018 and was the band's second release under their own label Wicked Nature Music. Background On 25 March 2016, the band po ...
'' (2018)


Awards and nominations


ARIA Music Awards

The
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan="6",
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, rowspan="2", "Get Free" ,
ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist - Single In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
, , rowspan="6", , - ,
ARIA Award for Single of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austral ...
, , - , rowspan="3", ''Highly Evolved'' ,
ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist - Album In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
, , - ,
ARIA Award for Best Rock Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Rock Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indust ...
, , - ,
ARIA Award for Best Group The ARIA Music Award for Best Group, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Industry As ...
, , - ,
Craig Nicholls Craig Robert Nicholls (born 31 August 1977) is an Australian musician, best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Australian alternative rock band The Vines, of which he is the sole continuous member. Early life Nicholls ...
for The Vines' ''Highly Evolved'' , ARIA Award for Best Cover Art , , - ,
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, James Bellesini and Love Police – The Vines ''Winning Days'' , ARIA Award for Best Cover Art , , , -


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vines, The 1999 establishments in Australia ARIA Award winners Australian garage rock groups Post-punk revival music groups Capitol Records artists Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Sydney Australian musical trios