When I first started writing for the site, I chose to review the début release by Richard Ashcroft’s new project, RPA & The United Nations of Sound. It was a terrible album, fused together with little to no semblance of care or articulation. It saddened me especially to hear such an awful disc, when Ashcroft was once capable of fronting a band that had some amazingly powerful songs and four very talented members.
The Verve will perhaps always be known best for “Bittersweet Symphony,” a song that will truly go down as one of the all-time greats in history. The moment the strings kick up at the start of that track, people know exactly what song is playing. Even casual listeners, who aren’t aware that the song is by The Verve, know how the song sounds. But I’m not here to glorify the Urban Hymns era Verve, nor am I going to talk much about their turbulent career. All I’ll say is that the band have had their fair share of breakups, and although their last reunion album, Forth may not have been great by their standards, it was a decent enough psychedelic affair.
I enjoyed Forth because it sounded somewhat like A Storm in Heaven, The Verve’s first album and one that is often overlooked. This was a Verve before they became more accessible to a large audience; the sound of a young band exploring new sonic landscapes. Although possible to simply slap a Shoegaze tag on this album and be done with it, it would be completely unfair to do so and an injustice to the band. Rest assured that, to me, A Storm in Heaven is the best Verve album, and one of my all-time favourite records to relax to.
There’s something innately majestic about the LP. Album opener “Star Sail” begins with a fuzzy guitar screech that creates a lush atmosphere. The moment those haunting vocal melodies come in and the subtle but intoxicating percussion, the true collective strength of The Verve becomes instantly apparent. Richard Ashcroft sings wonderfully; his vocals hazed out in a euphoric blur, utterly perfect for this slow, dreamy music. Nick McCabe makes “Star Sail” what it is with his inspired playing, threading lovely electric guitar swells between the soft instrumentation. It’s all so grand, and there’s instantly a drive to turn the volume up, sit back and allow the music to sweep the listener off of their feet.
“Slide Away” is perhaps the most catchy, sing-along song on A Storm in Heaven, featuring an epic bass line courtesy of Simon Jones, who layers the thick instrumentation with his groovy playing. Ashcroft’s lyrics are placed louder in the mix, which is no bad thing; on the chorus especially, Ashcroft nails the gap between his usual detached vocal register and a wonderful falsetto. His own bursts of vocal glory are perfectly accentuated by layers of guitar, distortion and atmospheric ambience. Things become a little more relaxing with “Already There,” a beautiful dream-like track that can’t help but put a smile on a listeners face: especially when Ashcroft elicits the sensual lyrics, “You can do anything you want to/All you’ve got to do is try.”
The album remains dreamy throughout. There are many words that could be directed towards A Storm in Heaven that can be applied to most Shoegaze albums: glacial, lush, breathy. But this is not an album in the vein of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. The Verve have a very gentle, soft approach to Shoegaze, preferring to lull a listener with pleasant melody and layers of dense, yet at times quiet, instrumentation. And it’s all very, very beautiful. Tracks such as “Butterfly” literally give the feeling of flying away on a breeze, even incorporating a Country-sounding riff throughout that needs to be heard to be believed, which gradually grows in intensity and volume. “Make It Til Monday,” on the other hand is a subdued, introverted track, where Ashcroft sounds as if he’s been swept away with the clouds. And yet he still manages to sound so utterly welcoming and pleasant, never daring to over-sing or over-indulge.
The one minor moment that sticks out for me as a potential negative is the placing of “The Sun, The Sea” within the track-listing. After the incredibly relaxed and tranquil “Beautiful Mind,” this track begins with some abrasive, loud instrumentation that seems somewhat out of place. But, like any good album, this could merely be seen as a change of pace. The rest of the track is musically complex and appreciated, bringing horns into the mix that grow in intensity. It’s all very confidently put together, and it’s simply just the relatively aggressive introduction to “The Sun, The Sea” that makes it stand out as being somewhat out-of-place.
All is forgiven, however, when “Virtual World” kicks in, which is arguably the absolute album highlight.. A lovely song, permeated by Salisbury’s soft, delicate percussion and featuring an excellent vocal performance by Ashcroft. Together the band create something truly amazing with “Virtual World,” with McCabe’s guitars blending flawlessly into a steady groove with Jones’ bass licks. When the flutes come in during the instrumental breakdown, it’s career-defining stuff.
The Verve will never be remembered for A Storm in Heaven. It’s often unfairly overlooked, perhaps because it is so much more about the atmosphere than individual tracks. This is an album for people who like to listen to an entire piece, as opposed to specific fragmented songs. Ashcroft is unlikely ever again to return to making music like this, which is an absolute shame: even as such a young band, The Verve were clearly masters of their sound – a logical continuation of their first EP – and creating magical music like this clearly took a lot more talent than Ashcroft now demonstrates. In fact, A Storm in Heaven, like the subsequent Verve records, simply proved that Ashcroft couldn’t do this alone. It took the effort of the entire band to make this wonderful record. It may not have a single “Lucky Man,” “Bittersweet Symphony” or “The Drugs Don’t Work,” but it simply doesn’t need them; it stands by its own merits as a wonderful, gorgeous musical journey that can be appreciated as the whimsical reverie that it is designed to be.
