August 6, 2003 11:41

THE VINES GET OUTTATHAWAY!

The band are in '"that magic space" as they work on the follow-up to 'Highly Evolved'...

Vines have spoken about the recording of their "futuristic" and "really very raw" second album.

As exclusively revealed by NME in April, the band are currently in Bearsville Studios studios outside of New York. After touring solidly for a year, Vines have been working on the follow-up to their debut 'Highly Evolved' since late May.

Singer Craig Nicholls said, "It's great to get away and not have to deal with traffic of anything... It's really peaceful here. It's a place where I can have time and space to work by myself. It's very much in the music zone - that magic space."

For the as-yet-untitled second album, Vines have re-enlisted the help of 'Highly Evolved' producer Rob Schnapf, despite Craig's reputation as a perfectionist.

"We considered just re-recording the last album," Nicholls joked. "No seriously. When I listen to the music, something I can't ignore is the vocal track. Some things, I'll get the first take, some will take a few more... I have a lot of ambition."

He added, "We want to keep moving forward and up. Not in terms of record sales, but in terms of overall satisfaction. That's important to me."

Speaking about the amount of equipment in the studio, such as a Moog synthesiser, organs, pianos and guitars, Nicholls spoke about the direction of the band's new sound: "We have all these great toys... Hopefully, (the album) will be a mixture of something futuristic but, at the same, really very raw."

Despite Nicholls not allowing any of one outside of the recording process to hear the songs, Vines' manager Andy Cassell told Rolling Stone: "The layering of Craig's vocals is mind blowing."

He added, "There's a song called 'Amnesia' which has so many harmonies - even though there are other instruments, all you hear is Craig's voice."