Highly Evolved is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band the Vines. It was released on 14 July 2002 on Capitol Records. Produced by Rob Schnapf, known for his collaboration with Tom Rothrock on Elliott Smith's albums Either/Or, XO, and Figure 8, Highly Evolved was an immensely popular debut, part of a trend towards garage rock revival bands known as much for the relentless hype from the UK music press as for their music; the Vines were frequently compared to Nirvana. The debut single, "Highly Evolved", was chosen as Single of the Week by influential British music magazine NME. The magazine also voted it the 2nd best album of the year in 2002. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In October 2010, it was listed in the book 100 Best Australian Albums.
| Highly Evolved | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 July 2002 | |||
| Recorded | July 2001–February 2002 | |||
| Studio | The Sound Factory, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:35 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Rob Schnapf | |||
| The Vines chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Highly Evolved | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
 First American pressing | ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | C |
| The Guardian | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| NME | 9/10 |
| Pitchfork | 4.1/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Uncut | |
Recording and mastering
Highly Evolved was recorded and mixed at The Sound Factory and Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. It was recorded between July 2001 and February 2002.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Craig Nicholls, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Highly Evolved" | 1:35 | |
| 2. | "Autumn Shade" | 2:17 | |
| 3. | "Outtathaway" | 3:02 | |
| 4. | "Sunshinin" | 2:43 | |
| 5. | "Homesick" | 4:53 | |
| 6. | "Get Free" | 1:59 | |
| 7. | "Country Yard" | 3:46 | |
| 8. | "Factory" | 3:12 | |
| 9. | "In the Jungle" | 4:15 | |
| 10. | "Mary Jane" | 5:52 | |
| 11. | "Ain't No Room" | 3:28 | |
| 12. | "1969" |
| 6:27 |
Personnel
- Performance
- Craig Nicholls – vocals, guitar, percussion, piano ("Homesick") and cover painting
- Patrick Matthews – organ ("Autumn Shade" and "In the Jungle"), bass guitar, piano ("Mary Jane", "Autumn Shade" and "Factory")
- Dave Olliffe – drums on "Highly Evolved", "Autumn Shade", "Outtathaway", "Sunshinin'", "Homesick" (outro only), "Country Yard", "Mary Jane" and "1969"
- Victor Indrizzo – drums on "In the Jungle"
- Joey Waronker – drums on "Get Free"
- Pete Thomas – drums on "Factory", "Ain't No Room" and "Homesick" (excerpt)
- Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – keyboards ("Highly Evolved", "Outtathaway", "Sunshinin'" and "Autumn Shade")
- Production
- Kevin Dean – production assistant
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Ethan Johns – additional percussion ("Get Free", "Autumn Shade", "Factory" and "Sunshinin'")
- Rob Schnapf – additional guitars ("County Yard", "Homesick", "Ain't No Room" and "Factory"), production and mixing
- Andrew Slater – executive production
- Justin Stanley – production ("In the Jungle")
- Andy Wallace – mixing ("Get Free")
- Doug Boehm – engineering
- Steven Rhodes – additional percussion ("Get Free", "Autumn Shade", "Factory" and "Sunshinin'") and additional engineering
- Tony Rambo – engineering ("In the Jungle")
- Craig Conard – production assistant
Charts
Year-end charts
| Charts (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 51 |
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) | 151 |
| Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) | 49 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 171 |
| US Billboard 200 | 156 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 150,000 |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000^ |
| ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||