Forth
Released
With Richard Ashcroft well settled into his solo career as seemingly self-designated rock and roll prophet and Nick McCabe pursuing other musical matters in his own time, the latest thing anyone expected was a reunion of the original lineup of the Verve in the late 2000s — so logically that’s what happened. Following a rapturously received series of shows, Forth wasn’t quite the return to A Storm in Heaven days that some had hoped, but songs like the moody charge of “Love is Noise” and the wrenching “Valium Skies” had a solid spark to them.