Jay Young has been on the fringes of the music scene for a few years, but when he put the Vaccines together in June last year it seems that everything came together, almost instantly. With a lack of exciting guitar bands around, the Vaccines were what the music world wanted: a high-energy quartet who could write taut punk-pop songs with catchy melodies.
At best, the Vaccines are all about being young and having fun. Wreckin’ Bar does what it has to do — build up a fast beat and have a rowdy chorus you can sing along to — before coming to an abrupt halt a minute and a half later. If You Wanna does wonders with a single bass note, a guitar that is more attacked than played, a single-finger keyboard melody and straightforward lyrics about reigniting a defunct love affair. The band sound confident, and the song is destined to fill indie discos for years to come.
As its knowing title suggests, the Vaccines’ debut isn’t quite the masterpiece it was being hailed as before anyone had actually heard it.
The lyrics come from the School of the Rhyming Dictionary, and lesser songs pad out the good ones. But, while What Did You Expect? is unlikely to stun the listener into silence and contemplation, it does have a good-natured, cheerful quality that is very appealing, making it an early contender for festival soundtrack of the year.
Columbia