The Verge bring their wigged-out sound into sharper focus on a scintillating debut

Psychedelic adventure billowed from The Verve’s first three EPs, with eight-minute singles siphoned from epic jam sessions. Stone Roses producer John Leckie helps bring that wigged-out sound into sharper focus on this scintillating debut. “Slide Away” and “Blue” harness guitarist Nick McCabe’s shapeshifting sprawls into irresistible grooves and climbing choruses, while the raging explosions of space rock and jazz (“The Sun, The Sea”, “Butterfly”) sit alongside “See You In The Next One (Have A Good Time)” – an early-hours tear-jerker that hints at the hit singles to come.