Hype is almost never a good thing. There’s probably an inverse relationship between how much you hear about a new band and how much you’ll end up enjoying their music. The expectations for The Vaccines are quickly ballooning overseas thanks in no small part to the British press. Superlatives reserved for a few occasions per decade are already being thrown around, and their demo just came out in August. They don’t even have a MySpace page yet.
With so much at stake so early in the game, backlash is probably inevitable. That being said, the handful songs the band have released so far, including pub banger “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra),” are impressive for a lot of reasons. In the midst of what appears to be a small 80’s revival, The Vaccines sound like several other new bands. But of all of the groups currently taking their cues from Ian Curtis and Morrissey, they might be doing it better than anyone else.
If The Drums are a lazy day at the beach then The Vaccines are a road trip; go for broke exhilaration with a sense of spontaneity. “Wreckin’ Bar” is thrilling, nostalgic, visceral and has about 5 different hooks crammed into its 84 seconds. With the reverb dials at 11, jangling guitars and thorny drums sprint ahead with a melody so simple it’s hard to believe someone didn’t think of it before. It’s a pretty fun way to spend a minute and a half, just try to forget everything you might have heard about them before you jump in.
