After an 11-year hiatus, The Verve [ tickets ] make a powerful return with "Forth," showing elevated levels of songwriting prowess while staying true to their previous sounds.

There is comfort in consistency, especially with a band like The Verve. The group's signature full symphonic textures and brooding, climatic choruses fall in line with everything they have ever done. Lengthy, seemingly never-ending, rock or jam songs that billow and crash are still a priority. This is never more obvious than with the appropriately titled "Noise Epic," a five-and-a-half minute deliberate celebration of chaos. Noise itself seems to be a preoccupation on "Forth"--be it overtly beautiful or wildly experimental.

The first track, "Sit and Wonder" is densely layered with The Cure-like ambient sounds that lazily stretch and build. With its upbeat dance pace and heartbreak lyrics, "Love is Noise" is one of the most striking tunes. Singer Richard Ashcroft wails: "Love is noise/Love is pain/Love is these blues that I'm singing again, again, again."

"Numbness" is Pink Floyd-esque to the point that, during the first moments, it could almost be a cover of "Breathe." It's a bluesy ramble so emotive that, ironically, there's nothing numb about it; it's downright drenched in pain. If that track doesn't jerk a tear, "I See Houses" certainly will. In a hazy anti-violence protest, amongst wandering pianos and escalating symphonic grandeur, Ashcroft sings: "How many tears/Must you taste/Before your freedom?" With raspy, warm vocal vibrations, Ashcroft reaffirms his position as a master in the sonic articulation of feelings, especially lonesome, poignant emotions. No matter how crushed in sorrow, Ashcroft always manages to bring a sense of hope to his words.

"Forth" is a solid reminder of The Verve's unique ability to create ethereal, fantastic journeys and convey humankind's universal feelings of fear, sadness and loneliness, through sound.

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