The Verve Pipe

It’s important not to confuse The Verve Pipe with their similarly, but ultimately more simply, titled British counterparts, fronted by Richard Ashcroft, but honestly, there’s probably not too much danger of that; whilst the ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ men have enjoyed the lion’s share of their success in their native UK, so have The Verve Pipe seen most of their highs take place on their own side of the Atlantic. In 1996, the Michigan outfit released their first major label album, Villains, and saw one of its singles, ‘The Freshmen’ go to number five on the U.S. charts; ever since, they’ve maintained a strong cult fanbase. After follow-up efforts The Verve Pipe and Underneath both fared strongly in terms of radio play, if not on the charts, they spent time pursuing other interests before dropping the children’s album A Family Album in 2009. They toured intimate venues in support of it, with the shows markedly different from their usual, noisy affairs; the acoustic guitars came out as they put some distance between themselves and their grungy, nineties sound. They might well return to it, though now that they’ve released their first proper record in over a decade, Overboard, this past June; they’re planning to tour in support of it, so nineties nostalgists should look out for UK dates.