On the charts

"Love is Noise" after two weeks on the charts:

• Last week #5
• This week #4

Live session coming up (UK)

There will be a session on the 21st of August on UK TV Channel 4 music from 8 to 8:30 in the evening.

V Festival: Verve defy cancellation rumours and rain

Band provide euphoric close to first night at Staffordshire site

The Verve have closed the first night (August 16) of the 2088 V Festival, defying rumours they were on the verge of cancelling their appearance.

Taking to the V Stage at the Staffordshire leg of the event, the band braved torrential rain as they mixed crowd favourites with songs from new album 'Forth'.

Joined for most of the set by a violinist, the four-piece introduced new song 'Sit And Wonder' – which has featured in their set all summer – by referencing the atrocious conditions.

"Shake off the rain with me," frontman Richard Ashcroft commanded the crowd before the song, "shake off the pain with me."

Playing a series of songs from 1995 album 'A Northern Soul', including an epic version of 'Life's An Ocean', the band then enjoyed a series of loud sing-a-longs from the fans who stuck with them through the heavy rain.

'The Drugs Don't Work' and 'Lucky Man' were bellowed back, before the band reached their climax mixing 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' with recent top five comeback single 'Love Is Noise'.

"Thank you from the heart," freestyled Ashcroft as the songs merged, "it's always been the same."

The Verve played:

'This Is Music'
'Sonnet'
'Space And Time'
'Sit And Wonder'
'History'
'Life's An Ocean'
'Velvet Morning'
'The Rolling People'
'The Drugs Don't Work'
'Lucky Man'
'Bitter Sweet Symphony'
'Love Is Noise'

Source: NME

iTunes UK

If you pre-order the album at the UK iTunes Store, there's a soundboard recording of "A New Decade" (live from Glasgow) included as an extra track. "Lucky Man" at Coachella will be available as an exclusive too.

Additionally, Judas is now available for purchase on UK iTunes. Hopefully this will become global soon.

Verve's comeback chart success

THE highest new entry in the UK Top 40 this week was Love is Noise by Wigan band The Verve, which debuted at number five. Article here and chart entry here.

There's a very good review of 'Forth' at the Music Snobbery website.

Second single announced?

According to the UK iTunes store, the dreamy "Judas," arguably one of the most beautiful songs the band has yet penned, is going to be the second single from the upcoming album 'Forth.' More news as it becomes available.

The Verve score Top Five entry on UK singles chart

The Verve have scored a UK Top Five hit with their comeback single 'Love Is Noise' tonight (August 10). The band's first single in ten years is the first track to be taken from the group's new album 'Forth', out on August 25.

"Chic Dub" snippet

From the "Love is Noise" single. Audio here plus single front and back covers.

'Forth' on facebook

All the songs can be previewed here.

The Verve in session

Hot off the back of their stunning headline performances at Glastonbury and T in the Park, The Verve performed a stunning intimate performance at Maida Vale for Radio 1. Video of the session can be seen here. For pictures click here.

The Verve's Richard Ashcroft: 'I'm going solo again'

The Verve's Richard Ashcroft has said that he plans to return to recording solo material, despite his reformed band headlining festivals and releasing their first album in 11 years.

Ashcroft told Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 that he had no plans to ditch his solo career, but reformed The Verve because he thought it would be "a shame" to leave the band dormant after they split for the second time in 1999.

"I will continue my solo stuff," he confirmed. "But it seemed a shame to leave this thing dormant when there is so much talent there."

The singer went on to compare Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis to Gerald Ratner – the British businessman who famously described the jewelry products his own company were producing as "total crap" in 1991.

"Even though Mr Eavis was acting like Gerald Ratner a month or two before [the festival], about his product, about his headliners [The Verve, who closed the Pyramid Stage bill on the final night], I still think it turned out really well," he said.

Ashcroft thanked co-organiser Emily Eavis from the stage during The Verve's Glastonbury performance this year but suggested her dad Michael Eavis had been trying to book Keane instead, something the festival later denied.

The singer added: "[For] some bands it fits like a glove. I think [fellow headliner] Jay-Z pulled it [Glastonbury] off massively.

"I've never done a bungee jump because I don't need to do one, because that's what performance is all about. It's about jumping out of the aeroplane. And that's the biggest jump I've done in a long time, so the afterglow was pretty long after Glastonbury."

The Verve's new album 'Forth' is released on August 25.

Source: NME

The Helio Sequence: A Two-Man Wall of Sound

The Helio Sequence is Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel from Portland, Oregon. They are literally a two-man wall of sound.

I came across their music by chance when I saw their name listed at a local venue's upcoming events calendar in April. I checked them out on MySpace to get a feel for their sound and have been actively listening ever since.

When it comes to music that should be heard, this band has been slept on so hard it’s ridiculous. They put on such a great show and their music is so powerful and full of energy that it amazes me that they don’t sell out clubs every time they play. Their music is catchy, intelligent, and highly innovative. I seriously haven't heard such an innovative band in a long time. Seldom do I find myself consistently listening to an album a few months after picking it up.

Also, Benjamin Weikel is far and away the most entertaining drummer I've ever seen. He’s like a muppet playing drums. Mouth hanging open in a big smile. Eyes all huge and wide. You can tell he’s genuinely excited to be playing the songs.

I've seen the band twice this year and their latest release, Keep Your Eyes Ahead, is by far a top contender for 2008's Album of the Year in my books. Below I've added a link to their MySpace page, a live session from National Public Radio, and four song downloads courtesy of Sub Pop Records. Music Saves.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theheliosequence

NPR Music: Interview and live performance session download (will pop up)

Songs: right-click and select "save link as" or click to play in another page

-Can't Say No (mp3)
-Keep Your Eyes Ahead (mp3)
-Everyone Knows Everyone (mp3)
-Blood Bleeds (mp3)

Verve in session next Tuesday

Hot off their stunning headline performances at Glastonbury and T in the Park, The Verve will be making a welcome return to Maida Vale on Tuesday night (Aug 5th).

The band will be performing brand new tunes from their forthcoming album ‘Forth’, and hopefully some classic tracks absolutely live from the legendary studios. You'll also be able to hear an interview between Zane and the man himself, Richard Ashcroft.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/

So tune into Zane’s show from 7pm on Tuesday August 5th, to hear this amazing event - and check out Zane's website for the video of the session.

The Verve Storms Back On Fourth Album

The Verve roars back to life after an 11-year hiatus between new albums with "Forth," a bracing blend of the experimentalism of the group's early work and the more structured songwriting of its last two efforts.

The set is due Aug. 25 in the U.K. via Parlophone and the following day in North America on the band's On Our Own label, with distribution by RED/Megaforce.

Only one song is less than five minutes long on "Forth," which begins with the seven-minute jam "Sit and Wonder." Atop a big bass groove and foreboding atmospherics, frontman Richard Ashcroft pleads, "Lord, give me the light," setting the table for the single "Love Is Noise," the most electronic track of the Verve's career.

The cut's sampled "woo-hoo" vocal and synths stake out new territory, but rarely have Ashcroft's vocals sounded as raw and angrily passionate. "Love Is Noise" will be released in the U.K. Aug. 4 digitally and Aug. 11 in physical form.

"Forth" is further highlighted by the dreamy "Judas," arguably one of the most beautiful songs the band has yet penned, and the anthemic ballad "Valium Skies," a sure-fire future concert staple which is reminiscent of the hit "Lucky Man" from 1997's "Urban Hymns." "I See Houses" muses on Ashcroft's everyday surroundings while pivoting between the eerie vibes of 1995's "A Northern Soul" and the elegant emoting of "Urban Hymns."

Elsewhere, the Verve stretches out in ways it hasn't since the early 1990s. The eight-minute "Noise Jam" is a propulsive rocker with references to Mother Mary, Steve McQueen and the Rapture, finishing in an explosion of pounding downstrokes, while "Columbo" barrels through several different motifs (slinky, Can-inspired bass lines; early Verve ambience) over the course of seven-and-a-half minutes.

The Verve plays Japan's Summer Sonic festival Aug. 9-10 and the U.K.'s V Festival the following weekend. Fall tour plans have yet to be announced.

Here is the track list for "Forth":

"Sit and Wonder"
"Love Is Noise"
"Rather Be"
"Judas"
"Numbness"
"I See Houses"
"Noise Epic"
"Valium Skies"
"Columbo"
"Appalachian Springs"

Source: Billboard, Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.