Those looking for Reese Witherspoon and the soaring violin strains of “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” will not find it on “Forth”, The Verve’s new and aptly-named fourth album. Instead, fans will encounter a reversion to The Verve’s psychedelic roots, completed with a raw, darker tone and more heavily-synthesized sound sure to please listeners of “A Northern Soul” and “A Storm in Heaven.”

“Forth” is the follow-up album to “Urban Hymns,” with which The Verve cemented their status in Britpop history, along with Oasis, Blur and a slew of other British exports. Thanks to enough drug problems, copyright scandals, inter-band tensions and breakups to compile an “Almost Famous” sequel, it seemed that The Verve was destined to be more widely recognized for their collapses and sagas rather than their work. Though “Urban Hymns” was definitely their most popular album, it was seen as a departure from their original style, which has returned in full force to “Forth.”

Thematically, the album has certainly taken steps toward depth, but not necessarily the right ones. Overall, the lyrics vacillate between unimpressive, (in “Valium Skies”: “She got all I need/ the air I breathe”) to poetically contemplative, as Richard Ashcroft again references his earlier work by alluding to William Blake in “Love is Noise.” Luckily, Ashcroft is able to carry his lyrics with his grainy, gravelly vocals, giving even mediocre lyrics gravitas.

Their first released single, “Love is Noise” has a catchy, dance beat rhythm complemented by a repetitive laughter track that adds a wider range of sound to the album. Already quite the hit in the UK, it should only be a matter of time before it hits the States and alt-rock stations.

“Rather Be” casts an almost apocalyptic vision of the world, one that is definitively more world-weary than “Bitter Sweet,” with Ashcroft proclaiming, “Always on the evil destruction/ Making all them scream out loud.” With a strong melodic emphasis and a pronounced piano role, “Rather Be” bears the most significance to “Lucky Man” and the Verve’s other Britpop hits of the mid-’90s. Though there are a few standouts, many of the tracks seem to blur together, with echoing vocals and washes of guitar riffs, such as on “Columbo” and “Valium Skies.”

If you are a Verve fan only by virtue of their more well-known tracks, then prepare to be surprised by this album, which veers from the more mainstream sound of “Urban Hymns.” I wasn’t initially impressed, but found that “Forth” had a funny way of growing on me. This is an album that has been heralded as The Verve’s great comeback, but then again, so was “Urban Hymns.” Listeners will soon enough see if “Forth” is The Verve’s segue back to greatness, or if it’s simply another step to a breakup and obscurity.