🟥 Part of this article is translated from Spanish.

Two years after his bandmates vacated The Vines, CRAIG NICHOLLS has regrouped with bassist Tim John and drummer Lachlan West for the double album. "Wicked Nature", which is being called his heaviest work to date.  Below, Nicholls gives M+N the exclusive rundown on The Vines' ambitious return. 

Disc 1 

Metal Zone

Metal Zone is the opener and the first single as well. The producer [of disc 1] Paul McKercher had a guitar with a homemade pickup on it.  It was really cheap and I wanted to use it, so we used it on the beginning of that. It's got a lot of attitude, that song.  It could have a double meaning – in the verses it's pretty straight-ahead.  It's mostly attitude and one of the heaviest songs.  

Ladybug

This also has a double meaning.  Songs are kind of like poetry. The double meaning is, for me, like having a girlfriend or a wife.  I don't know how cold that sounds. It goes along with all the other things I hate – no computers, no mobile phones, no cars, no women. No nothing. I just want to evaporate. So that's more attitude – I don't need anything or anyone. 

Green Utopia

Another double meaning! What I was thinking is that where I live is very green – wicked nature. It sounds like punk, and it is, but the chorus is talking about nature and my preference for that. 

Psychomatic

It's a made-up word. I guess it's like being automatically psycho. Again, it's talking about driving cars, which I don't like. I have problems with a lot of things, more against society and people, so it's about how I think being tripped out is a better way to be. Psychomatic to me just seems like everything is out of control, all the people in the world.  

Killin the Planet

This one's got the most lyrics in it. It's kind of environmental. I just can't stop singing about things like this – it's what's most important to me. It's kind of just about people, again – I've got a problem! There's too many people. 

Anything You Say

I really like this one because it's got a hussy melody. Most of the songs, at least from the first [half of the] record, are more serious, but this one is kind of fun, just more about guys and girls and me again saying I live by the music. 

Venus Fly Trap

This is kind of dark.  It has a very serious feel to it. It's the wicked nature theme – a girl as a Venus fly trap. But I'm saying bad things about the guy as well. So I guess it's an anti-love song. 

Good Enough

I really thought maybe that should be a single.  It's kind of different but it's got a very tight arrangement. It feels very catchy, if I can say that about one of my own songs. The chorus sounds very happy. 

Out The Loop

I like this one because it's probably the fastest one we did. It's random lines and not specifically about one thing. It's a punk song. 

Wicked Nature 

I remember finishing off little bits of lyrics right before we went in and recorded. I had this song but I just I didn't know what to call it, so I called it "Wicked Nature" because I knew that's what we were calling the album. It's a different one for us. It comes at the end and it's much longer than the usual songs we have. It's a bit of a space-jam, which I really like doing in the studio. It's more abstract alongside the tighter arrangements. 

Into The Fire

This has got a kind of religious theme or feel to it. It's very serious and kind of epic. I was raised in a bit of a religious family, I went to a Catholic school – it's all a bit of a crazy thing. It's really deep and scary as well. 

Disc 2

Reincarnation

It's really spacey. It's a different feel, cleaner. It picks up where "Into the Fire" finished the first record, from death to rebirth. What I'm saying is that time never ends, so it's more about time. 

Love Is Gone

This one is kind of a cleaner, more 60s-sounding song and, again, it's about how I have a problem with love. It's about men and women and that struggle which I imagine or perceive or which you get from other people's music. It's just meant to be fun. 

Truth

This one is very serious, almost like a hymn. It's just something that my brother had said to me that made me write this song, and it was very simple.  

Slightly Alien

This is another very quiet song – a nylon-string acoustic, brushes on the drum kit. I guess again that's me singing about my alienation. But hopefully it sounds nice. It's more about character and having a good vibe. 

Everything Else

It's pretty nasty sounding. Again, it's some of the anger I have and I'm singing about. It sounds very bratty but that's okay – sometimes it's alright to be like that. 

Fly Away

It's very basic. The words are repeated over and over. It's meant to be a mellow little song – there's not much in it. It's a bit of a country song. 

Girl I Want

This one is more 60s. It's got a big chorus in it. The harmonies are so high, I was just screaming to reach the notes. They might be a bit out of tune but again, it's the character thing and just going for it. It turned out pretty good. 

Clueless

This was an older song, which was sort of an instrumental but I added some more words to it. It's really strange sounding, Indian or something. I kind of like it. 

Darkest Shadow

It's very, very fast. It was fun to do. It's simple and we did it really quick. It's like "Out of the Loop" – the words are just things I thought or felt.  "Darkest Shadow" – that's what I feel like sometimes. It's very strange to be living in the Stone Age at this time. That's why I just try to cling to music. 

Funny Thing

This is just kind of sad. Things about me again. It's just like, "Why is it so difficult", "Why do I have this problem and will I be able to survive or relate to people?" I think I'm really sensitive and that's what this is. Being a songwriter, that's a good thing.