Album Review: The Vaccines - Come Of Age

The Vaccines
Come Of Age
Rating: Grrrr

The Vaccines' debut album What Do You Expect From The Vaccines? left me rather unimpressed, owing to the monstrous hype from the UK press as the band being the savior of guitar rock, but finding it to only being a moderately interesting run-of-the-mill alt-guitar album. Not that there was anything horrible on the record, in fact there were several catchy pop tracks, but overall it never really rose above merely pleasant. So, when their follow up Come Of Age found its way into my inbox I was less than in a hurry to get to it. Somewhat reluctantly I decided to listen to it and my first spin through it did nothing to change my perspective on the band and put it aside again. For some reason, I found it back on my hard drive when I was culling some chaff and thought, well, I might as well listen to it one more time before deleting it. I'm not sure if it were my mood that had changed or if it suddenly just clicked with me, but Come Of Age sounded different. I suppose my lack of real expectation in it allowed me to actually listen to it, and it is a surprisingly catchy record, full of sterling singles. Does this mean that The Vaccines are now living up to that storied hype? Well, not really. I still don't think this band deserves god-like status, however, they do need to be recognized for coming together with a set of almost instantly hook ready tracks that are hard to get out of one's head.

Blasting out of the gate with the raucous "No Hope," The Vaccines deliver a snide, jaded track about growing up,



and just continue on with track after track of catchy goodness, like the shambling "I Always Knew," and the pop goodness of "Teenage Icon," with its ridiculously memorable chorus.



Perhaps it is owing to working with producer Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Laura Marling) that has given them more focus and clear-headed direction, but The Vaccines seem more cohesive even with the album's tracks veering all over the guitar rock spectrum. From the punkabilly of "Ghost Town,"



Pavement-esque slacker rock of "Weirdo,"



spiky, 60's styled pop of the witty "I Wish I Was Girl," and the wandering noir/alt-country of closing stunner "Lonely World,"



The only real missteps are the overly sunny/quirky flower power track "Aftershave Ocean,"



and the George Harrison aping guitar solos of "All In Vein" that comes across more as parody than a truly respectful approximation.

Ultimately, Come Of Age is just a really good guitar pop record full of catchy riffs, memorable melodies, and, what was mainly lacking from their debut, a sense of personality. As I mentioned, this album is not going to change the axis of the planet or lay waste to the rock landscape, but if you want a really great rock record, you can certainly do a lot worse.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

The Vaccines: What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

The Vaccines
What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
Rating: Meh

It really bothers me when magazines or newspapers hype a band so much that there is no conceivable way they could ever live up to the expectations. NME is probably the worst offender in this regard. While it may whip up a frenzy surrounding a new band, more often than not, the band fades away into obscurity. Does anyone really remember The Vines, Gay Dad, or Kasabian? Few, for sure. It really bothers me when a band is really young and this over-hype potentially destroys their careers. Recently NME, anointed The Vaccines as "The Return of the Great British Guitar Band," which would crush the shoulders of anyone carrying that kind of weight. Is their debut album worthy of all the hype? Honestly, not really. Is it worth monstrous scorn? Not at all. The Vaccines are not the great white hope, nor are they terrible. They are just an above-average guitar band that makes catchy music. When they are full throttle, they even sound inspired, but for the most part this group of songs is a placeholder, showing a band with some talent, but not really putting down a distinctive stamp to make them stand out from bands doing it better.

The Vaccines work best when they don't try so hard. My favorite track is "All In White," which travels outside the band's template of steady beat and chiming guitars. It actually builds tension with a varied beat and soaring electronics.



Or the feedback drenched ""Blow It Up."



However, the majority of tracks are just pleasant, run-of-the-mill guitar pop. There is really nothing here to complain about as the songs are all nice and strike a mood, but they just don't go anywhere. The tracks don't stay long in the memory, unfortunately.

First track "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" is only memorable because it steals directly from The Ramones.



"Post Break-Up Sex" is memorable more for its title than the song itself.



What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? is the perfect title for the album (and shows the band does have a sense of humor about all the hype) because the album is all about expectations. Based on the NME hype machine I was waiting to be blown away by something new and fresh. The finished product though is well below my expectations. The album basically fades into the background because it has already been done before, and done better. There is a good base here, and hopefully, like Radiohead, this is just a stepping off point to something better. Time will tell if they are still around in 10 years or relegated to the basement of formerly hyped NME bands.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

The Vaccines: "Post-Breakup Sex"

Much buzzed about UK band The Vaccines channel everyone from Jesus and Mary Chain, The Ramones, and Pulp, with their jangly, fuzzed out take on 60s garage rock. First single and video from their debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines is a catchy little ditty called "Post-Breakup Sex."