_“Tell me what you see

Was it a dream? Was I in it?

Life seemed so obscene until it's over

Who knows?”_

So sang Richard Ashcroft, and retrospectively, for messrs Tong and Jones – former Verve members and now bassist and lead guitarist for The Shining - a very poignant lyric.

Five years ago, The Verve were straddling the indie rock/Virgin Radio equator, kings of all they surveyed. Before that, the band were true visionaries, inspiring those around them to greater things. People like Oasis, for example. So what happens when the band you inspired become your inspiration? Has the world finally turned around and eaten itself only to vomit halfway through, spewing a half-chewed half-digested version of its original self? Apparently yes.

Vocalist Duncan Baxter sounds like a North West Axl Rose, and, despite that fact that they and their believers probably think their tune sounds like the best Led Zeppelin song that never was, it actually sounds like GnR’s _‘Don’t Cry’, but, y’know, crapper. Lyrically, it sounds Gallagher-esque; “its not easy being real” Baxter intones. Agreed Duncan, especially if ‘being real’ means sounding like this. The Shining are obviously reaching for the stars, but there’s better ways of doing it than reading a ‘how-to’ manual.