The end of September 1997, I was 18 and living on my own in the real world for the first time, not just in a different house but a different country. Brit Pop still ruled the airwaves and the battle between the North and South continued to rage. Being a Northerner I had heard of The Verve previously and nipped into the local Woolworths at lunch time on a Monday afternoon to get a copy of Urban Hymns longing for something fresh.

I am a strong believer that when ever listening to non pop music you should always listen to an album in full and take any singles you have heard in the context of the album they are a part of. So I got in from work and popped the CD in the tray and pressed play.

The opening bars of the album are handled by 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' and, even after all of this time, they remain musical perfection; simple melodies that are wonderfully layered and continue to build in complexity through to a shimering climax. There is a careful and refreshing use of strings throughout the album which is not what one would expect from an "indie" band and the simple, building melodies are evident on all tracks. The relatively simple 'Sonnet' again shows of Ashcroft's talents as a composer, adding a pinch of salt where required. The next of song that demands a mention is 'The Drugs Don't Work'. To me there is a deep message about love in there and again the use of strings is brilliant. Other tracks of note that never made the singles list are 'Catching The Butterfly', inspired by the chaos theory, and 'Space and Time' which changes pace like a roller-coaster. And I must also mention the brilliantly moody 'One Day' and 'Velvet Morning' where Ashcroft's superb lyrics shine through some clever melodic guitar riffs.

If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and seek out Urban Hymns to experience a performance performed by one of the most underrated bands of the 90s.