It's ironic that the lead-off track on Forth is called "Sit and Wonder." The irony stems from the fact that the band's fans have been sitting and wondering when and if their heroes were ever going to put out an album again, given that its been about a decade since the band popped with new material. "Sit and Wonder" immediately dispels any doubts as to whether it was worth all the waiting though as singer Richard Ashcroft takes his listeners on a lush "Bittersweet Symphony"-style journey. The song is ostensibly about falling in love but Ashcroft's glasses tend to fog up a bit even though his vision is clear, so relatively straight-forward lyrics end up sounding enigmatic. The song is the Verve's gift to fans who don't know much about the band beyond "Bittersweet Symphony" as Forth's sound diverges quite a bit from there on out.
"Love is Noise" leaves the introspective haze behind and heads straight for the dance floor while "Rather Be" features a string section and subtle background cooing, effects that only serve to amp up Ashcroft's already high "cool guy" quotient.
"Judas" is the album's turning point; the extremely airy song is completely free from the bitterness the title implies, reaching out instead with forgiveness. Although not by any means filler, the rest of the album doesn't hold the listener as rapt as the first half as Ashcroft seems to take his cues from "Cortez the Killer"-era Neil Young ("Numbness"), Coldplay ("I See Houses") and U2 ("Columbo".)
It is of course the wonderment-filled singing that makes the album special but the other Verve hallmarks---heavy bass lines and psychedelic guitar flourishes---are on full display too. Forth stops short of masterpiece but as to an hour spent with long-lost old friends it's a pleasure hard to match.
