The Vaccines
What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

What do you expect from The Vaccines?

Very clever title, theirs. It's like saying, "Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. Before you buy me, ask yourself what you are looking for, don't blame me if you don't like me afterward." And that's how they presented themselves with their debut album, nothing more, nothing less than a band with the right style and haircut, blown up (as usual) by the inevitable hype from the British press, labeled (as usual) as the “next big thing.” And so far, nothing new.

The response from the four London boys was the release of an essential album, 11 tracks, and a minimum duration of 2:30 per song, which reminds us a lot of the whimsical Ramones. Yes, because, well, they do borrow something from them, the cheerful "Wreckin Bar" with its scream "Ra Ra Ra" definitely has a sound that evokes New York ghosts. But a constant in all of The Vaccines' work is that reverberated, distant, and rarefied guitar sound with hard and energetic strokes, as in the beginning of "Wolf Pack." An album that moves on the tracks of classic indie rock, taking "punk" detours ("Norgaard"), sometimes covering itself with a bit of melancholy ("All In White"), that melancholy given precisely by the voice of frontman Justin Young, until recently a folk music singer. All in all, a well-made album, a handful of songs that work. Simple, direct, and brazen, it maintains a frenetic pace; "If You Wanna" has that chorus that sticks after the first listen; "A Lack Of Understanding" carves out a solitary spot, a song with indistinguishable Brit-pop undertones. Then there's the surprising track "Family Friend," calm at the start, only to unleash a guitar orgasm in the finale. The ghost track "Who You Are" is the song you don't expect, voice and piano that contradict the alleged superficiality of the overseas group.

So, can we consider this album an antidote for the rampant virus of "heard it all before"? Definitely not, but it goes down beautifully, mischievous and youthful just right, unpretentious, “playmeanditgoesaway.”

In short, it’s an easy one-night stand girl, it will give you the pleasure of the moment, but you will forget it very easily.

(However, what a bang.)