Since their formation in 2011, everyone and their mum have been heralding The Vaccines as the darling saviours of indie guitar rock.
Whether Britain’s “best new band” actually needed to save indie rock is debatable, but the London foursome’s first two albums of timeless rock’n’roll were hardly groundbreaking stuff. Even diehard fans would admit that 2012’s Come of Age was a pretty lacklustre followup to their brash debut What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?
English Graffiti was co-produced by Cole M.G.N (Beck, Ariel Pink) and David Fridmann (chosen mainly for his work on Weezer’s Pinkerton) in an effort, frontman Justin Hayward- Young says, “to make something that sounds amazing next year and then terrible in 10 years!”.
With Dream Lover, their best song to date, English Graffiti certainly arrives with an air of confidence, the boys also now comfortable to slow the pace at times, as on the lustrous Want You So Bad. However, The Vaccines sound best when they stick to their frenetic bubblegum pop, as on zippy opener Handsome and the infectious 20/20.
The Vaccines English Graffiti (Sony Music)
