Customer Reviews

Into the Pink

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Their sound is amazing, Mr Nuby (power-house drummer extrardonaire) combined with Bondy's sneering vocals and Anne-Marie's soft velvet-like vocals with a sound reminiscent of Nirvana mixed with the Sex Pistols and Stooges. However, the first track on the album will throw you off guard. It starts off with a gentle piano number, but this is just the calm before the storm. The second track, Into The Pink, kicks off with the sound of marching feet, combined with a thumping bass intro which is then proceeded by a seering guitar and Bondy's sneering vocals. Stand-out tracks include: Baby Got Shot, Pretty Please (my personal fave), Depression Is A Fashion and Sympathy Was Dead.

Verbena are quite possibly the new hope everyone has been waiting for, are you gonna miss out?

Alabama blues-grunge band Verbena polishes up their sound a little in sophomore album "Into the Pink," after the rousing debut of "Souls For Sale." It's a bit lower-key, a raw-edged rock album that shatters the cookie-cutter rock mold, and isn't afraid to forge into new territory. It's stark, bleak and thoroughly breathtaking.

Verbena strays from their usual sound in the dour piano ballad "Lovely Isn't Love," a surprisingly low-key composition. Following it up is the unmemorable grunge of the title track, and the sinuously gritty sound of "Baby Got Shot." A bluesier dimension comes in with "John Beverly" and the meandering "Prick the Sun."

Don't expect a lot of softer material, though. Verbena doesn't lose track of what they are -- fuzzy, lo-fi sound rules the roost in crashing rockers like "Submissionary," the blistering blast of "Pretty Please" and "Depression is a Fashion." But the album comes back full circle to balladic melancholy in the final track.

With "produced by Dave Grohl" right under the band names, you know that there must be something special about this music -- a guy who was in Nirvana and Foo Fighters knows his stuff. It's a little more southern-bluesy and less loud than their first release, as if Verbena has refined their sound and figured out how to balance what is in their music.

Scott Bondy's stoned-sounding vocals suit the disillusioned songwriting ("Depression is a fashion/break down and use yourself"), occasionally breaking into an annoyed snarl. And he plays some pretty solid guitar riffs as well. Backing him up are the bombastic drums and grinding bass of Anne Marie Griffin (who does some angelic backup vocals) and Les Nuby. And giving the album a softer edge are the first and last songs -- pleasant piano/guitar melodies with a hint of synth.

"Into the Pink" smooths out some of the rough edges on Verbena, but they still have the raw vibrance of their debut. A fantastic rock album well worth having.

I had the great privilege of seeing these guys live when they opened for Local H a while ago. Local Hs singer/guitarist/bassist Scott Lucas had said this was one of his favorite bands, but I knew nothing about the band going in (and the band has since changed their name to Alabama Boys Choir). And I was surprisingly impressed with every song they played. They did play some songs from their debut Souls For Sale, but I remember hearing Bang Bang, Lovely Isnt Love, Baby Got Shot, and Depression Is A Fashion from Into The Pink. Since that fateful night, I have been listening to this CD on a [habitually] regular basis. This is a very noteworthy album; one that shouldnt go overlooked. Heres a short summary of the 13 songs.

Into The Pink starts with the melodious Lovely Isnt Love. Its opening line reads: we may get caught but well never be found / not until were on our knees. Its actually my second favorite song on the CD, although the piano and slow pace are not characteristic of most of their songs. The second song, the title track, is also very good. Into The Pink has a more grunge-ish feel to it. Yet its not comparable with the likes of Baby Got Shot. This songs as close to a single as it gets for the band. This song was actually the particular reason I looked into Verbena; after hearing it live of course. Its right up there (at least should be) with many of the best rock songs out there. John Beverly is another slow song; but with more guitar. Its very good, but still not better than track one. The next song, Pretty Please, is also one of my favorites. It has very appealing lyrics; and the music is similar to Baby Got Shot. If there is a weak point towards the beginning of the CD, its Monkey, Im Your Man. It kind of has a Pixies-like feel to it, which normally would be good, but it never really develops. Usually rock bands only use one slow song on their albums, but with Prick The Sun, Verbena already has three in the albums first half.

Oh My is another catchy song; its very likable. Its drum-enforced chorus is excellent and the lyrics are easily superb. Submissionary is just as cool; there seems to be a trend within Verbenas songs. This ones very reminiscent of latter-day Nirvana. When they were playing live, I heard a fan shout Bang Bang; which allowed me to assume Bang Bang was one of their hits. And that assumption was correct. Although maybe not as good as (again) Baby Got Shot, it is still an excellent song. And the line were gonna kill the king / were gonna kiss the queen is certainly noteworthy. Bang Bang is definitely one of Into The Pinks best songs. The less-than 2-minute Depression Is A Fashion is awesome; and features the best lyrics of any song. Break down and use yourself says it all. Track 12, Sympathy Was Dead is also smart. It may be hard to enjoy; its start seems almost too similar to many of the previous songs, but the chorus and background vocals make it good. The epic closer (if thats fitting), Big Skies, Black Rainbows is another slow-paced hit, and is better than John Beverly and Prick The Sun (which its most similar to); though still not as good as Lovely Isnt Love. Its a phenomenal closer; since it really carries out the albums greatness.

Its very hard to find music like this; that takes us back to grunge-like years without actually being grunge music. And whether you liked the infamous grunge scene or not, Verbenas Into The Pink is still an amazing CD. I am very thankful that I was able to see this band live, as I have become quite a fan. You probably know this band only through their ties with Local H if at all, but even if you dont, take a listen to this album... And Souls For Sale if you can find it. Be sure to watch for Alabama Boys Choir; (or Verbena, if in Alabama) when they come to your town. This is a great band and an excellent CD; and neither deserve to be ignored.

All I can say about this Verbena cd is that it is the first new
music that has really grabbed a hold of me in a long time. Music
is so boring lately, even the so-called "punk" bands are just
polished, studio produced bubble gum punk. With the deaths of
some of music's greatest; Joey Ramone, Joe Strummer and of course
the less recently deceased Kurt Cobain the great music in the
industry was a rare thing to find indeed. From first listen I
felt that something great was going on with this band.
Produced by Nirvana/Foo Fighters Dave Grohl the cd is nirvana-esque,
but certainly different enough not to be a Nirvana clone. I think
that Verbena sounds like a band influenced by great alternative
bands. They are both raw and melodic. They deserve credit for
waking me up.

This album is what nevermind was in the early 90's. It has a nice blend of soft tracks to the more harder ones. The lyrics actually have meaning unlike all of the bands today.Capital should have promoted it more and not have just thrown it away.

I think Verbena make good music,but on this album is not so evident.Their debut,"Souls for sale",was more various and emotional,two things that "Into the pink" have not.However,the riffs are interesting,and it's not too easy to forget their songs.The first seven songs are fantastic,but the end of the album sounds like the same thing on the track 9,track 10 etc etc. The high points are the intro song,Lovely isn't love,Baby Got Shot(nice video!),John Beverly and Monkey i'm your man.The other songs are too ripetitive and soul-less.4 stars for the first part of the album,1 star for the end-

The new Verbena cd, which finds this band incarnate as a trio, makes me feel the same way Nirvana's "Nevermind" did upon first and subsequent listens. It creeps out of the dark, with somber piano tones, and then turns skyward, blazing a scorching tale to the sun. Give it a chance, and you can witness firsthand, the grand rebirth of rock. Thank you Verbena. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for the inspiring masterpiece. Thank you Dave for producing this epic.

What if you sat Excene Cervenka in a room with Kurt Cobain for 5 consecutive days with nothing but a pile of speed, powerful handguns, and a Sex Pistols album blaring non-stop and told them to write an album? It would sound like this. A frantic and hyperactive frontal lobotomy on the cultural landscape much like the Sex Pistols were on DiscoLand in the late 70's. And all the while maintaining that hip southern white trash camp feel. Some of the guitar riffs are like pure metal butter draining over my eardrums. If you like to rock, then I suggest you get "Into the Pink" any way you can if you'll pardon the expression.

alabama? who would imagine that such powerful and raw music can come from this "neck of the woods"? this happens to be the case with this sensational trio from birmingham, alabama called "verbena".

into the pink has proven to be the break-through for verbena into the entertainment world. with the previous indie label release on merge records, souls for sale, verbena received acclaims from such high-profile acts as foo fighters and juliana hatfield. eventually, the band formed a bond with foo fighters' front man, dave grohl. this started it all.

following grueling tours with foo fighters for the rest of 1997 in europe and the united states, dave grohl proposed the idea of producing the next verbena record to the band, and the band willfully accepted. throughout 1998, the band was confined to a studio with dave grohl manning the boards in los angeles, ca.

dave grohl's production work can easily be noticed when listening through the record for the first time. "lovely isn't love", the opening track, serves as a calm before the storm with simplicity: scott bondy's soothing vocals working sinfully with a piano. then comes the storm with the title track, "into the pink". the beginning of this track brings you into a military corps with the rhythmic marching starting things off. as the record progresses, more and more is brought out about the band. the guitar work and vocals of lead-man scott bondy ties together excellently with annemarie griffin's bass ability and her harmonic female vocals backing scott's. and don't count out drummer les nuby. having dave grohl in the studio tends to work for you if you happen to be a drummer, and les proved himself on this record. by the completion of into the pink, it ends as the record started, with simplicity. scott and annemarie going back to their roots and singing away while their guitars set the mood for the occasion (whatever it may be) as "big skies black rainbows" comes to a close.

certainly, into the pink is a record that is not to be passed over. with all the alt-rock acts out in the mainstream today, this serves to be something with meaning. the return of rock and roll is back, and it's all resurrecting out of the heat of the south with VERBENA.

If I were to lose my hearing from listening to this record I should say it was worth it. Into the Pink is full of tracks that force you to turn up the volume. Some bands build you up with great intros and even better riffs but when it comes time for the rockin' part they are woefully disappointing. This is where Verbena delivers. Every (yes, every) song has a Payoff and big whopping one at that.
Verbena will knock your socks off.
Who cares who produced them or what "influences" they have. Wanna get a record that will make you say, "Wow, that's rock."? You will keep this in your CD player so much it will leave an impression. You will learn where the repeat CD button is on your player.
Wanna Rock? You can get off the train here...