Gareth - 4/27/2011

A lot has been written in the press about the Vaccines regarding the quick signing and rise, their connections and their wealth. However if the music is no good then the people won't listen.
The album, although recorded in a studio does sound raw and under produced, by no means a bad thing, many albums in the past that could have been good have been ruined by over production.
This albums sound is uncomplicated, raw and catchy. The lyrics are not ground breaking but very basic, the vocals are not the best but they do the job and are cleverly supported in places by distracting but good backing vocals. In places you can't really hear the vocals due to them being set amongst the music. The music in itself is simple but catchy, with similar chords being used throughout the album. All this said, this album is brilliant and somehow, when all put together it just works. Its sound of carelessness, whether that be staged or not, makes it have that feel of a late seventies punk record, not necessarily the sound, maybe in some ways but more the feel of the record, somehow it seems to have a feel of the undertones about it.
The opener 'Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra), a fine example, you can't really fully here the words but you can't help but find yourself humming or partially singing along when the 'Ra Ra's' come in. If you like one song on this album you will probably like them all, as they are all in a similar vain. 'Blow It Up' again, although not lyrically clear is very catchy. Every song on this album as a song/sound that ends up getting to you and makes you want to sing along, somehow it just works.
The current single 'If You Wanna' is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head and has a faint beach boys sound about it. The another previous single from the album was 'Post Break-Up Sex', a good tune but maybe due to its subject matter may have put some people off from giving the band a fair listen.
Track 11 'Family Friend' starts as a slower track that builds and gets louder. This is the final track on the album but after it fades and a short interlude of silence there is the secret or bonus track called 'Somebody Else's Child', which is a piano song, which in itself sets it apart from the album.
This album is worth a suck it and see, raw, uncomplicated and catchy, not lyrically clear in places but the overall sound of the songs makes you want to listen again and again.