The Verve: "Love Is Noise"

Oh, hello there, Verve! You’ve been away for roughly a decade now, so let’s see, what’s happened since? Well, Britpop and shoegaze—remember, those movements you were part of?—have gone their separate ways, the former birthing the atrocious sob pop of Keane and Snow Patrol and, lest we forget the American cousins, the Killers. Meanwhile, shoegaze has fallen pretty well off the map of the mainstream, though Working For A Nuclear Free City and the recently reunited My Bloody Valentine are keeping that flame alive.

So, it’s been a decade of less-than-satisfying solo releases from Richard Ashcroft and his nutcracker cheekbones, and what is a reunited Verve to do? If “Love Is Noise” is any indication, they’d like to remind listeners everywhere how to properly write epic, shoegazy pop. Not that “Noise” is a complete success, as Ashcroft singing “walk on souls that are made in China” is far from his A-game. But then again, lyrics were never necessarily the big drawing point of the Verve, and that’s where splendid shouts and shiny crystal guitar drips come in here. “Noise” is an anthem built for rousing stadium concerts and the “come together” moments they produce; and if you think that’s a bad thing, then the Verve, or at least this Verve, is just not your band.

Uplifting chants of “ooh hoo” and “ahh haa” shadow Ashcroft, and make this new single sound definitively like the effort of a band again. This reunification might be a mercenary one, but if that’s the case, the Verve are doing an excellent job looking (and sounding) like they’re revitalized by making music together. The chorus of “Noise” comes together beautifully, as the surreal blues-rock stomp gets distorted while Ashcroft intones: “Love is noise / love is pain / loves is these blues / I’m singing again.”

Perhaps most important about “Noise” is that the Verve’s instrumental players are pushed front and center. Nick McCabe’s guitar hasn’t been this majestic since the Verve’s debut, while Simon Jones’s descending bass riff and Peter Salisbury’s pounding post-punk drums form a solid bedrock. It’s also nice to see that subtlety is still out the door for the Verve. Beyond just the bombast of the song and its lyrics, the video features all the cliché imagery you’d expect: snow-peaked mountains, flames, lovers kissing with sparks in the background. Here’s hoping the Verve never change…which is to say, please don’t become the Killers, guys.