The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, a review

The way some magazines and establishments are harping on about them, you'd think the Vaccines were the UK's biggest new discovery since the Arctic Monkeys. So it's a bit of a dangerous pedestal for them to perform from; there's inevitably going to be many who disagree with the hype. And the truth is the four Londoners are as far from the Monkeys as they come - initial sounds placing them somewhere between Mumford and Sons, White Lies and Franz Ferdinand, but with a slightly more edgy feel.

With an audacious album title, one would initially expect from the Vaccines a plethora of tongue-in-cheek lyrics and bold beats. And with opener 'Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)' they certainly deliver on that promise, being just over a minute of high octane drums and vocal rhythms that have a dizzying effect (matched suitably by their music video, set from a varyingly spiralling camera's perspective). "If You Wanna" is similarly unrelenting in pace, certainly reminiscent of White Lies' debut with their focus on tense drums and a background distortion that gives off a sense of doom - juxtaposed against Justin Young's pretty chirpy vocals.

In 'A Lack of Understanding' there's a certain detached quality about the lyrics and vocals, evoking Morrissey in that kind of uninterested, alienated and endearingly misanthropic sense. The track is a solid rhythm that probably won't be anyone's favourite but it's a nice sound anyway. Grungey guitars introduce 'Blow It Up' and it sounds a lot like The Gaslight Anthem's latest release - influenced by Springsteen blues and heavier rhythms.



'Wetsuit' is a lot like the Killers' debut, with a pacy drumbeat likely to evoke a few mistaken "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier"s from unsuspecting crowds, but it's that brand of stadium-rock that is likely to endear them to the masses. And then there's a clear nod to the Libertines on 'Norgaard', being a full throttle assault on the indie senses that's likely to earn them a few soundtrack appearances on Skins or something. It's possibly the most fun of the album.

The Ramones are sampled a bit on single 'Post Break-Up Sex', as pivotally classic punk-rock as they come with a dreary lyrical subject and similarly disenchanted delivery that all pieces together into a catchy anthem. 'Under Your Thumb' plays on some tuneful vocals that steer the record back into that mainstream, solid (and dare I say it, safe) ground that's again not likely to be a fan favourite. Odd lyrics are tossed about in 'All in White' but they don't matter when accompanied by such a bleak rock sound that lingers and ebbs unpredictably but with pleasing effect.



'Wolf Pack' is another injection of adrenaline that by this stage kind of likens the album to a boat ride in an indecisive storm; sudden bursts of energy interspersed between safe stadium serenity. 'Family Friend' reaffirms this with a kind of Favourite Worst Nightmare-era Monkeys sound; all acoustic pleasantries and picturesque haziness. This finally descends into the hidden track 'Somebody Else's Child', perhaps a titular reference to the sudden introduction of another instrument - it's a soft piano-led musing with croaky vocals that round things off beautifully.

What can you expect from the Vaccines? In terms of similarities with established bands - The Gaslight Anthem, White Lies (circa their interesting debut; not dismal follow-up), The Libertines

What can you not expect from the Vaccines? It seems bizarre that some reviewers have discussed Ramones similarities - indeed the only clear influences by the punk legends I can notice are the sample in Post Break-Up Sex and perhaps the shortness about other tracks Norgaard and Wreckin' Bar.

Rating: 7.5/10
Highlights: Family Friend/Somebody Else's Child, Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra), Post Break-Up Sex, Norgaard, Wetsuit
Avoid: n/a