Austin – I have now seen The Vaccines three times now in their extremely short time of existence. Something about their retro sounding garage punk rock keeps me coming back. I don’t even know how to categorize them properly, they have some punk elements, but their melodies also take a lot of influence from 60s era pop bands. Take the guitar lick from Wreckin Bar, for instance, while the rest of the track sounds like some good Ramones cover, that guitar lick almost belongs in a greaser 50s diner jukebox. It’s the nice meld of multiple genres of music that has everyone excited about this band and as a result, the trio played a host of shows at SXSW, including Filter’s party at the Cedar Courtyard and Spin’s party at Stubbs. Coincidentally, I was there for both.
When I first saw the Vaccines in Toronto, the experience left me unimpressed. The band either seemed uninterested or unmotivated. Seeing them twice in two days, I can chalk that Toronto experience to a bad day. The Vaccines I saw in Austin was a tight, confident rock band and with standout tracks like Post Breakup Sex and Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra), they have reason to be confident. With set times of 15 and 18 minutes, I almost think the Vaccines should go home and write more songs so the next time they are in town not because their current selection of tracks isn’t good, but because I don’t want them to finish their set by the time I took three sips of my beer.
The Vaccine’s debut record What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? is out on May 31st
The Vaccines – Post Break-Up Sex by UniversalMusicPublishing