Barely two years after they formed their band, Justin, Freddie, Arni, and Pete are already releasing a new batch of songs. The inocula administered here need more time to process than the debut What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?, which was released with great pomp last year.
The Vaccines
CD | The Vaccines ●●
Come of Age rock (Columbia/Sony)
Initially, we had some difficulty with singer Justin Young’s voice, apparently afflicted by a polyp, but his timing is right here, and on the whole, his rather laconic delivery adds attitude to the band’s fresh and catchy compositions. “I’m no teenage icon / I’m no Frankie Avalon / I’m nobody’s hero”, he sings with great schwung and self-relativisation. We hear echoes of Franz Ferdinand, but without the nervous tempo shifts. At other times, its sound is strikingly reminiscent of the 1960s, like in “All In Vain” and “Aftershave Ocean”, both injected with wonderfully light refrains and bridges. By sporadically using the effects unit, adding some echo, the band drops the simple three-chord rock we had become accustomed to. “Ghost Town”, a garage rocker based on a mysterious bassline, is even more atypical. But it is a shame that the second half of the album falls flat.
19/10, 20.00, SOLD OUT!, Ancienne Belgique
Come of Age rock (Columbia/Sony)
Initially, we had some difficulty with singer Justin Young’s voice, apparently afflicted by a polyp, but his timing is right here, and on the whole, his rather laconic delivery adds attitude to the band’s fresh and catchy compositions. “I’m no teenage icon / I’m no Frankie Avalon / I’m nobody’s hero”, he sings with great schwung and self-relativisation. We hear echoes of Franz Ferdinand, but without the nervous tempo shifts. At other times, its sound is strikingly reminiscent of the 1960s, like in “All In Vain” and “Aftershave Ocean”, both injected with wonderfully light refrains and bridges. By sporadically using the effects unit, adding some echo, the band drops the simple three-chord rock we had become accustomed to. “Ghost Town”, a garage rocker based on a mysterious bassline, is even more atypical. But it is a shame that the second half of the album falls flat.
19/10, 20.00, SOLD OUT!, Ancienne Belgique
Read more about: Muziek
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