There was a time when The Vines were hyped as the next band to single-handedly save rock. This was, of course, when boy bands were just fading out and rock music really needed a pick-me-up. Along came this Australian group of misfits with their debut album Highly Evolved, which critics hailed as the beginning of the next wave of garage rockers. Rolling Stone threw them on their cover with a tagline of "Rock is Back," while critics raved that they were the next coming of Nirvana and pushing the boundaries of rock with their progressive style.

Now on their fourth album Melodia, The Vines have gone through career ups and downs, but are still rocking out. Like their last studio record Vision Valley, Melodia is a brief whirlwind of tracks that clock in around the 2-minute mark and cover a gamut of genres. As varied and diverse as it is, it's typical Vines territory, with the upbeat thrashers mixed with the stripped down Beatles-esque tracks. The record is not much that we haven't heard from the group before, but it's still unique in the sense that they are one of a few bands who still strip rock down to its raw elements and maintain the style that propelled them to fame in the first place.