Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2014 treated you well and if it was rather unforgiving, like my year was, then I hope it helped you grow as a person and made you stronger in facing 2015. Let’s start the year off with some good music, shall we? During late spring of 2014 I began listening to The Vaccines after hearing much about them through the wonders of the internet, aka the Tumblr community. The first song I heard was No Hope, from their second album Come Of Age. At first I was not impressed because I had a hard time adjusting to their lead singer’s voice. Justin Young has a voice that takes some getting used to; it has a Bob Dylan whine with a more monotone edge. However, after hearing I Always Knew, also off of Come Of Age, I had become officially vaccinated, to coin a term.
These four lads from London have a Ramones like edge to them with wailing guitar solos and gut busting drum beats. What I love about them, generally what I love about any band, is their lyrics. Young has a talent for using metaphors in his lyrics. On their debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? Young shows off his ability to create deep metaphors, especially in the song All In White. Which, after reading more about the song, I learned is about his self doubt and how he deals with his lack of self-confidence. The lyrics that The Vaccines come up with are so relatable to me. In my experience I’ve found that grunge or punk bands like this tend to write about getting in fights, sleeping with lots of chicks and doing drugs while The Vaccines sing about their personal issues, whether that’s self-confidence, trying to figure out what to do with your life, or dealing with post-break up sex.
The Vaccines are originally from West London and began making music in 2010. The band is composed of four members: Young (lead vocals, guitar), Arni Arnason (bass), Pete Robertson (drums), and Freddie Cowan (lead guitar). They uploaded their first single, If You Wanna, to Youtube in 2010 and have been on the rise ever since. They signed to Columbia Records in 2011 and released their debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? in March of the same year. They toured with the Arctic Monkeys as a supporting act as the word about their music spread. In 2012 they released their sophomore album, Come Of Age, which reached #1 on the UK album chart. The Vaccines wasted no time in releasing another EP the very next year, Melody Calling, before taking a break, but rumor has it that they will be back in early 2015, and I’m eagerly awaiting their return.
You can check out their website here
Autumn Micketti 