"Their sound is amazing, Mr Nuby (power-house drummer extrardonaire) combined with Bondy's sneering vocals and Anne-Marie's soft velvet-like vocals with a sound reminiscent of Nirvana mixed with the Sex Pistols and Stooges. However, the first track on the album will throw you off guard. It starts off with a gentle piano number, but this is just the calm before the storm. The second track, Into The Pink, kicks off with the sound of marching feet, combined with a thumping bass intro which is then proceeded by a seering guitar and Bondy's sneering vocals. Stand-out tracks include: Baby Got Shot, Pretty Please (my personal fave), Depression Is A Fashion and Sympathy Was Dead.Verbena are quite possibly the new hope everyone has been waiting for, are you gonna miss out?"
Bright "Pink"
E. A Solinas | MD USA | 08/14/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Alabama blues-grunge band Verbena polishes up their sound a little in sophomore album "Into the Pink," after the rousing debut of "Souls For Sale." It's a bit lower-key, a raw-edged rock album that shatters the cookie-cutter rock mold, and isn't afraid to forge into new territory. It's stark, bleak and thoroughly breathtaking.
Verbena strays from their usual sound in the dour piano ballad "Lovely Isn't Love," a surprisingly low-key composition. Following it up is the unmemorable grunge of the title track, and the sinuously gritty sound of "Baby Got Shot." A bluesier dimension comes in with "John Beverly" and the meandering "Prick the Sun."
Don't expect a lot of softer material, though. Verbena doesn't lose track of what they are -- fuzzy, lo-fi sound rules the roost in crashing rockers like "Submissionary," the blistering blast of "Pretty Please" and "Depression is a Fashion." But the album comes back full circle to balladic melancholy in the final track.
With "produced by Dave Grohl" right under the band names, you know that there must be something special about this music -- a guy who was in Nirvana and Foo Fighters knows his stuff. It's a little more southern-bluesy and less loud than their first release, as if Verbena has refined their sound and figured out how to balance what is in their music.
Scott Bondy's stoned-sounding vocals suit the disillusioned songwriting ("Depression is a fashion/break down and use yourself"), occasionally breaking into an annoyed snarl. And he plays some pretty solid guitar riffs as well. Backing him up are the bombastic drums and grinding bass of Anne Marie Griffin (who does some angelic backup vocals) and Les Nuby. And giving the album a softer edge are the first and last songs -- pleasant piano/guitar melodies with a hint of synth.
"Into the Pink" smooths out some of the rough edges on Verbena, but they still have the raw vibrance of their debut. A fantastic rock album well worth having."
Watch for the Alabama Boys Choir...
wellwellwell | bog | 01/06/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had the great privilege of seeing these guys live when they opened for Local H a while ago. Local H?s singer/guitarist/bassist Scott Lucas had said this was one of his favorite bands, but I knew nothing about the band going in (and the band has since changed their name to Alabama Boys Choir). And I was surprisingly impressed with every song they played. They did play some songs from their debut Souls For Sale, but I remember hearing ?Bang Bang?, ?Lovely Isn?t Love?, ?Baby Got Shot?, and ?Depression Is A Fashion? from Into The Pink. Since that fateful night, I have been listening to this CD on a [habitually] regular basis. This is a very noteworthy album; one that shouldn?t go overlooked. Here?s a short summary of the 13 songs.Into The Pink starts with the melodious ?Lovely Isn?t Love?. Its opening line reads: ?we may get caught but we?ll never be found / not until we?re on our knees?. It?s actually my second favorite song on the CD, although the piano and slow pace are not characteristic of most of their songs. The second song, the title track, is also very good. ?Into The Pink? has a more grunge-ish feel to it. Yet it?s not comparable with the likes of ?Baby Got Shot?. This song?s as close to a single as it gets for the band. This song was actually the particular reason I looked into Verbena; after hearing it live of course. It?s right up there (at least should be) with many of the best rock songs out there. ?John Beverly? is another slow song; but with more guitar. It?s very good, but still not better than track one. The next song, ?Pretty Please?, is also one of my favorites. It has very appealing lyrics; and the music is similar to ?Baby Got Shot?. If there is a weak point towards the beginning of the CD, it?s ?Monkey, I?m Your Man?. It kind of has a Pixies-like feel to it, which normally would be good, but it never really develops. Usually rock bands only use one slow song on their albums, but with ?Prick The Sun?, Verbena already has three in the album?s first half. ?Oh My? is another catchy song; it?s very likable. Its drum-enforced chorus is excellent and the lyrics are easily superb. ?Submissionary? is just as cool; there seems to be a trend within Verbena?s songs. This one?s very reminiscent of latter-day Nirvana. When they were playing live, I heard a fan shout ?Bang Bang?; which allowed me to assume ?Bang Bang? was one of their ?hits?. And that assumption was correct. Although maybe not as good as (again) ?Baby Got Shot?, it is still an excellent song. And the line ?we?re gonna kill the king / we?re gonna kiss the queen? is certainly noteworthy. ?Bang Bang? is definitely one of Into The Pink?s best songs. The less-than 2-minute ?Depression Is A Fashion? is awesome; and features the best lyrics of any song. ?Break down and use yourself? says it all. Track 12, ?Sympathy Was Dead? is also smart. It may be hard to enjoy; its start seems almost too similar to many of the previous songs, but the chorus and background vocals make it good. The epic closer (if that?s fitting), ?Big Skies, Black Rainbows? is another slow-paced hit, and is better than ?John Beverly? and ?Prick The Sun? (which it?s most similar to); though still not as good as ?Lovely Isn?t Love. It?s a phenomenal closer; since it really carries out the album?s greatness. It?s very hard to find music like this; that takes us back to grunge-like years without actually being grunge music. And whether you liked the infamous grunge scene or not, Verbena?s Into The Pink is still an amazing CD. I am very thankful that I was able to see this band live, as I have become quite a fan. You probably know this band only through their ties with Local H if at all, but even if you don?t, take a listen to this album... And Souls For Sale if you can find it. Be sure to watch for Alabama Boys Choir; (or Verbena, if in Alabama) when they come to your town. This is a great band and an excellent CD; and neither deserve to be ignored."
Into the Verbena
valvonauta_gigi | Milan Italy | 12/26/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I think Verbena make good music,but on this album is not so evident.Their debut,"Souls for sale",was more various and emotional,two things that "Into the pink" have not.However,the riffs are interesting,and it's not too easy to forget their songs.The first seven songs are fantastic,but the end of the album sounds like the same thing on the track 9,track 10 etc etc. The high points are the intro song,Lovely isn't love,Baby Got Shot(nice video!),John Beverly and Monkey i'm your man.The other songs are too ripetitive and soul-less.4 stars for the first part of the album,1 star for the end-"
The best new music in a long time.
Jennifer A. Platt | stamford, ct USA | 02/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"All I can say about this Verbena cd is that it is the first new
music that has really grabbed a hold of me in a long time. Music
is so boring lately, even the so-called "punk" bands are just
polished, studio produced bubble gum punk. With the deaths of
some of music's greatest; Joey Ramone, Joe Strummer and of course
the less recently deceased Kurt Cobain the great music in the
industry was a rare thing to find indeed. From first listen I
felt that something great was going on with this band.
Produced by Nirvana/Foo Fighters Dave Grohl the cd is nirvana-esque,
but certainly different enough not to be a Nirvana clone. I think
that Verbena sounds like a band influenced by great alternative
bands. They are both raw and melodic. They deserve credit for
waking me up."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
Jason P. from PORTAGE, IN 
