The expensive stodge of The Vines' much-hyped debut didn't bode well for a follow-up. Bits of Winning Days almost captivate: the elastic riffage of "Ride", the star-struck interludes of "TV Pro" (which rupture into pedestrian guitar stomp and non-verbal wailing), most of the diaphanous "Autumn Shade". You will search in vain for a simple, affecting song, however, and Craig Nicholls has an unappealing non-voice. It's hard to fight the feeling this is average songwriting buffed into something near-palatable by the amount of money spent on it. At least Nicholls isn't ripping off Nirvana quite as blatantly as he was first time around.
The expensive stodge of The Vines’ much-hyped debut didn’t bode well for a follow-up. Bits of Winning Days almost captivate: the elastic riffage of “Ride”, the star-struck interludes of “TV Pro” (which rupture into pedestrian guitar stomp and non-verbal wailing), most of the diaphanous “Autumn Shade”. You will search in vain for a simple, affecting song, however, and Craig Nicholls has an unappealing non-voice. It’s hard to fight the feeling this is average songwriting buffed into something near-palatable by the amount of money spent on it. At least Nicholls isn’t ripping off Nirvana quite as blatantly as he was first time around.