The Vines have been staying fairly productive since exploding seemingly out of nowhere with hit song, “Get Free” and being tagged with The Strokes, The Hives and The White Stripes as the saviours of rock for the early 2000s. Yet frontman, main songwriter and sole-founding member, Craig Nicholls and his band have kept out of the spotlight outside of their native Australia since. “Wicked Nature” is a double album and also their 6th.

The album kicks off with first single, “Metal Zone” with a brief bluesy guitar riff that kicks off into a highly-charged rock song under 2 and a half minutes of vintage Vines. “Psychomatic”, “Everything Else” and “Out of the Loop” has the band at its wildest and hardest. “The Truth”, “Slightly Alien” and “Clueless” are the acoustic highlights of the album, where Craig’s vocals take a breather from yelling maniacally that he has proved capable of in the past with earlier ballads like “Homesick” and “Winning Days”.

Out of the album’s 22 songs, you get the band’s usual mixed bag of harder songs paying homage to 90s grunge and softer acoustic ballads where Nicholls’ 60s psychedelic influences shines. While their previous album, “Future Primitive” was the band’s most experimental, they’ve wisely returned to their what they do best in “Wicked Nature” for a familiar yet satisfying album.