The Vaccines’ fifth album Back in Love City expands their sound even further, doing so from the most unexpected of places.
When the Vaccines released their debut album What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? a decade ago, it was an impressive garage rock revival effort that had the advantage of arriving well after the mid-2000s explosion of that subgenre. In the three albums they’ve released since (like 2018’s Combat Sports, which added touches of psychedelic rock and even new wave), the band have branched out without ever totally abandoning their early sound.
The Vaccines’ fifth album Back in Love City expands their sound even further, doing so from the most unexpected of places. Much like their fellow London rockers Mystery Jets did with their 2012 album Radlands, the Vaccines recorded this album in Texas, giving it an unabashedly American sound. Somehow, this translates more into “spaghetti western” than “heartland country,” heard most prominently in the ominous muted strumming and showdown-style whistling of “Wanderlust.” Parts of the tense “Paranormal Romance” also seem primed for a dramatic western scene, in between name drops of Hercules, vampires, and the Phantom of the Opera. “El Paso,” named after the city where the album was recorded, is an unusual mix of folksy acoustic guitar plucking and a dance beat at its chorus. Apart from these instrumental homages aimed across the pond, “Heart Land” is a sincere ode to the U.S. on the lyrical front. Here, singer Justin Hayward-Young declares “I’m not giving up on my love for you America” intertwined with lists of American pop culture icons and the nation’s beloved unhealthy food.
Americana aside, some of the styles on Back In Love City will sound more familiar. Both the opening title track and the following “Alone Star” have noticeable surf rock vibes, which the Vaccines occasionally dabbled in on Combat Sports (that album even had a track called “Surfing in the Sky”). The horns on “Alone Star” bring the Hawaii Five-0 theme song to mind for me. The single “Headphones Baby” is their most simplistic pop song to date, repeating its chorus ad nauseam over a dance-rock beat. The Vaccines have never really eschewed pop, always landing on the more accessible side of rock, but this track lays it on a little too thick. Fortunately, they also rock harder than they ever have on tracks like “XCT” and “People’s Republic of Desire.” “Jump Off the Top” is a nice marriage of pop and rock, and sounds like something that could have been on What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? That said, it’s so formulaic that it’s quite the contrast from the rest of Back In Love City, showing how much more intricate the band’s sound has grown in a decade.
The new Americana styles on Back in Love City will primarily appeal to already-established Vaccines fans, and the older, revisited styles are more comforting than anything else. However, the album is worth a listen if nothing else than for Hayward-Young’s quips and wordplay throughout. On the title track he sings “when I exorcise my demons I just take them to the gym” while “People’s Republic of Desire” has the line “Never gave the joke my permission to land, thought that it was fresh, but all the laughter was canned.” The titular love city allegedly forms a dystopic motif as the foundation for a concept album, but it’s not exactly apparent unless you go scrutinizing the lyrics. As it stands, Back in Love City at least makes the Vaccines worth a shot in the arm.
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