Highly Evolved

They may be hyped by the British press as no less than the second coming of Nirvana, but on "Highly Evolved," the Vines offer something more interesting than yet another trawl through flannel-clad angst. True, the addictively short "Highly Evolved"'s primal beat and chunky guitars are certainly post-grunge, but not in the boringly earnest, imitative way that bands such as Silverchair were — the song's sludgy sexiness and tight structure also recall the '60s garage punk that shaped bands like Nirvana and Mudhoney. But instead of just capitalizing on that (admittedly great) sound, on the rest of the album the Vines prove that their style is indeed a highly evolved hybrid of grunge, garage rock swagger, '60s psych, and '70s pop.