The Verve Pipe - Overboard (2014)
Where to begin? First and foremost, Prof P and I can both attest to the fact that The Verve Pipe are an amazing live band and that the music comes first, which is far more important than the ambiguous nature of the band's image throughout their 20+ year career. And while this ambiguity persists to this day, the music is truly all that matters with Overboard (2014), and it shows as this is one of the band's finest albums. That's it in a nutshell, but the larger story is far more complex!
Marketed as the band's first "rock" or "mainstream" or "dark" album in thirteen years, Overboard's "hype" seems to suggest that the band has been lost in the wilderness since their last "standard" album (which was 2001's excellent Underneath), but that is of course not true. The Verve Pipe never actually went away, and I don't just say that because Wikipedia tells me so. Between Underneath and Overboard, the band has actually had three releases, one Christmas EP and two "children's" albums. As campy as that all might sound, these offerings (particularly the children's albums) rank as some of the band's greatest and most ambitious work. That may be a bit hard to swallow, especially for The Verve Pipe, but both A Family Album (2009) and Are We There Yet? (2013) were so successful in that respective market that the band could actually make Overboard, and there are certainly some musical flourishes that carry over into their more "mature" offering. Now I love these guys, but it all seems a bit rediculous; regardless, all of their music contructs their body of work, and the band's more recent offerings are inarguably their best. And that very much includes Overboard.
Upon first listen, it's clear that The Verve Pipe have shed every last vestige of the post-grunge sound that made them famous in the first place; indeed, much of the album gets its sonic inspiration from the more acoustic leanings of frontman Brian Vander Ark's solo albums, in addition to the melodicism of Underneath. That being said, there are some edgier moments that evoke even their 1999 eponymous dark horse, as well as some clear departures obviously inspired by the adventurisms of their children's albums. All said and done, Overboard makes for one sonic kaleidoscope of an album, which is both its greatest strength and one weakness. What I mean by this is that the sheer variety of the songs on Overboard probably makes for the most interesting album in the band's catalog, and in many ways is probably their best collection of songs. The title track is arguably the finest song they have ever produced, but "Crash Landing," "Latchkey Kid," "What You Did to Me," "Here in the Dark," and especially "Don't Say It's Over" equally rank among the band's best, and the rest of the album is of high quality. However, as an entire album, Overboard feels somewhat disjointed and uneven, the songs never really flowing together in a cohesive production. And while that isn't a major issue, it's enough to make Overboard probably their second best album. Underneath, therefore, remains the definitive statement for the Verve Pipe because of both excellent songs and complete production, which might also be due to the equal songwriting contributions of the now departed drummer and co-founder Donny Brown. While there are some subtle flourishes from Brown, his overall presence is honestly missed a bit on Overboard.
In the end, despite the press, the personnel changes, and slightly awkward pacing, Overboard is an excellent addition to The Verve Pipe's discography. And if the album proves anything, it's that the band has survived their 90s rise and fall, prevailing with their best songwriting to date. But don't call it a comeback; they've been there the whole time. And maybe now with Overboard people might finally realize that they're here to stay.
McS
