I’d love to be one of the first people to suggest The Vaccines’ full-length debut is the perfect album for the summer. Alas, it actually came out in May 2011, so I’m a year late on that one.
But for anyone who hasn’t heard What Did You Expect From the Vaccines, then it’s the perfect album for Summer 2012.
Channeling contemporaries such as Surfer Blood and Interpol, this London four-piece churns out songs that are as poppy as they are droning.
Coming in just under 36 minutes, there isn’t any sort of slow build-up on any of these tracks. It’s just straight-ahead indie-pop/rock with a sometimes sunny hue. (Well, except for the closing track, which is 8:30.)
The above song, “If You Wanna”, is the second track on the album. And it establishes early on the band’s tendency to just repeat a word or phrase for much of a song. That’s another reason the short length of the songs is pretty key.
While the album has been out for more than a year, I’ve only heard about The Vaccines sporadically. And I didn’t decide to finally give their album a spin until I heard the opening track — “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)” — played during the closing credits of the most recent episode of “Girls”.
Yeah, I watch “Girls.” What’s it to ya?
Did you notice the Ramones influence on that one?
Anyway, this album would be a great complement to any sunny day. And, hopefully, the band will continue to mature and put out some more complex tunes in the near future.
Infinite Shuffle 
[…] The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From the Vaccines … Favorite song: “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)” Although it came out in May 2011, I didn’t discover it until a year later. And I have since played it 17 times. They also put out an album this year — Come of Age — but it pales in comparison to the debut. […]
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[…] was the question my friend and I were pondering after watching The Vaccines play a rather blazing set last night. Having listened to the band’s live album earlier in the […]
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