(Single from album, "Come Of Age")
I can still remember, and very clearly, the feeling of instant appeal as the lead singer of the Vaccine’s let his audience know that he ‘barely look’ at them. Brutally and bluntly describing the emotions of a rebound relationship through memorable lines such as ‘I can’t believe you’re feeling good’ and the infamous, ‘f***ing in the nearest room’, that first single, “Post Break-Up Sex”, was one hell of an entry into the UK charts and, from its initially repulsive title to the lack of intro and abrasive opening, it had me instantaneously gripped…
With “If You Wanna”, the band cemented their position as the new indie sensation; tambourines, brash drums, a changing pace of guitar and insanely alternative vocals with a very educated edge – if they hadn’t already, everybody was pre-ordering the album and tickets to the live shows – this was going to be something big…
Next up for The Vaccines it was “Nørgaard”, the affectionate, post-punk tribute to the Norweigen model, Amanda Nørgaard, and clocking in at a miniscule 1:42, the song was something of a passing statement rather than a song, and as such felt like a punch in the face, consisting purely of sound.
To finish up 2011, The Vaccines debuted the world’s first Instagram-made music video to accompany the festival-feel track, “Wetsuit”, surely the ultimate climax to the upward spiral of Vaccines tracks to grace the music industry with their presence. With a feel-good vibe and a bouncy but dark bass-line, the audience was understandably saddened to find this was the last single from the debut album.
So, upon the release of a statement confirming a single release from The Vaccines for June 2012, it is easy to see how a lot of hype built up around the imminent release of the Indie gods’ next track. “No Hope” came out last week – and frankly, it doesn’t quite live up to expectations…
Ok, so it opens with an impossibly loud chasm of trashing guitars, a brilliant way to start your track. But the vocals are all wrong; a mix between a droning drunkard, Bob Dylan on a good day, and Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys.
The guitars continue to impress, but the overall dynamics of the song, comprising the drum-track and the hopelessly mediocre bass-line, hugely contrast the wonderful guitars, screeching joyously in classic Johnny Marr fashion in the background and stabbing back at the eardrums of the listener at unexpected intervals, and at incredible volume.
Sadly, everything that disappoints outweighs that which impresses, and the overall feeling is that whilst this is infinitely better than the rest of the top 100 at the moment, we know from past experience that The Vaccines can do so much better, the debut chart position of 37, the epitome of this aggravatingly rubbishy comeback…
However, despite briefly complementing it, it isn’t quite fair to totally disown this Vaccines record, or indeed, the band themselves for making it. In terms of promotion, The Vaccines have excelled here, is some places, miles beyond the efforts made on the previous album and its singles.
The artwork, for example, is supreme, and uncannily similar to that of “Shakespeare’s Sister”, the 1985 Smiths single, with its total lack of information and just the band’s name emblazoned across the image in bold bright colours. Depicting a young girl, who looks confused and unsure, it perfectly complements both the sound and subject matter of the track itself and, on a 7” single sleeve, the only physical medium release of the song, it looks fantastic.
The video is also something of a marvel of promotion. The black and white footage is perfect and the film itself is moving in a way, which is rarely seen in today’s music videos (if at times just a little too literal in its interpretation of the song).
So, though only a ‘quickee’ review from me here, and perhaps a little too dismissive (?), one can hope this is merely a disappointing moment for the band as so many musical groups’ before it have suffered, the Associates’ 1985 track “Breakfast” still, in contrast to “Party Fears Two”, essentially unlistenable as far as this writer is concerned…
★★★
Versions of “No Hope”
Album/Single Version – 4:06
Demo Version – 4:09
Live in Brighton (Single B-Side Version) – 4:15