Album: Melody Calling EP
Record Label: Sony
The Vaccines approach summery pop vibes via '60s psychedelia and '90s American Indie with lush results
If The Vaccines promised increased maturity on their second album, last year's "Coming of Age", then "Melody Calling" sees them, across the minuscule space of three original tracks, make good on that promise. They're still leaps and bounds from doing anything truly original. But on this EP it sounds like they've been doing a lot more listening to The Lemonheads, Girls and The Dandy Warhols than they have The Kaiser Chiefs, and all the better for it; their transition is mostly gorgeous.
The title track kicks things off with a robust drum beat surrounded by a sparkling, reverb- tinted lead guitar melody, which is joined by an atmospheric, synthetic backdrop in the rising chorus. "Do You Want A Man?" can proudly be considered one of the finest songs they've ever written. There's jagged interplay between stabs of distorted guitars, an appropriately rumbling bass line and a doo- wop influenced shuffle, not to mention the spacious odes to '60s psychedelia in the chorus. "Everybody's Gonna Let You Down" is a pessimistic trawl through Nirvana- esque acoustic chords and a slinky, clear- cut lead guitar riff. A beautiful synth hum joins the foray in the chorus as Justin Young sings "With no hesitation I'll run all night, it's a lonely life."
The Vaccines still hold simplistic pop song writing dear to their hearts. But if "Melody Calling" proves anything about them, it's that they've become one of those bands with a truly great ear for incorporating both maturity and simplicity into a 3 minute song, and with a fair dose of versatility, as "Do You Want a Man?" stands to prove. Hopefully they can transfer this grown up immediacy to a full- length.
Key Tracks: Do You Want A Man?, Everybody's Gonna Let You Down
For Fans Of: The Lemonheads, Real Estate
8/10
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