The Vaccines – ‘Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations’ album review: the sound of nostalgia done well
THE SKINNY: For every artist, there comes a point when a particular sound becomes stale. Even though it might be a winning formula, trying to play the same tracks repeatedly can agitate both the musicians and their fans alike. While The Vaccines may have their traditional indie rock sound intact on their latest album, Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations, they twist it enough to deliver a solid lesson in remaining relevant years after the fact.
With over a decade removed from their debut, the songs across this album are a perfect exercise in expanding on the model the band had already set for themselves. While the occasional song may be reminiscent of The Vaccines of old, some of the best tracks showcase their ability to move outside their usual wheelhouse.
The album’s highlights are often performed with the same kind of nervous energy one would expect from the later period of The Jam. Although there are more than a few nods to the band’s indie glory days, they pale compared to the matured lyrics, which touch on the darker subject matter relating to growing old and realising that things can’t be the same as they were way back when.
Even though it’s easy to listen to the songs on a surface level, the juxtaposition of dark lamentations and upbeat melodies is actually one of the album’s greatest strengths. Instead of making a deliberately jaded record, the band sounds like they are trying to wilfully find ways to be happy amid the turmoil, with Justin Young and Timothy Lanham playing different pieces of ear candy against one another, prising sunshine out of honest reconciliation.
For Fans Of: holding up a pair of skinny jeans, wondering whether this is the last year you’ll get any wear out of them, then glancing up at your Libertines poster and striding out the door with drain-pipe pride.
A concluding comment from Tom’s mother: “I remember these, they did that one ‘If You Wanna’. This is less fun than that, and he shouts a little bit, but I’d happily play this on the drive back from another dinner where Margaret keeps cutting me off to rabbit on about Tony’s colitis.”
Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations track-by-track:
Release Date: 12 January / Producer: Andrew Wells/ Label: Thirty Tiger Records
‘Sometimes I Swear’: After a flurry of instrumental noise, the sweet sounds of indie rock distortion greet Young’s vocal, talking about how cold the world seems when you can’t find your way back home. While the whole album might kick things off on a slightly cynical note, it’s the best way of easing the listener into what the rest of the album has to offer. [3/5]
‘Heartbreak Kid’: Part post-punk exercise, part danceable power pop hit; most of this gem is the most indicative of the band trying to fit in with the sounds of the time. While this kind of move could have easily been considered shallow in anyone else’s hands, this is probably the closest to what the band may have sounded like had they picked up synthesisers first instead of guitars. [3.5/5]
‘Lunar Eclipse’: This kind of snide bitchiness to a former friend has never sounded this irresistible. Young’s voice across this song is one of the catchiest on the record, complete with lyrics that will either get you to cheer along or cry your eyes out. It might seem trite, but the lyric “We started with nothing, but we ended like this” is both heartbreakingly blunt and hilarious at the same time. [4/5]
‘Discount De Kooning (Last One Standing)’: After a decent start, this is where the album’s momentum begins to run out of gas a little bit. While the keyboard section and surf-guitar stylings are decent, most of the track feels like it’s meandering, trying to find the hook of a long-lost Strokes song that should have been kept off the track listing. [2/5]
‘Primitive Man’: Out of all the new extensions to the album, this one has new producer Andrew Wells finding his groove behind the mixing chair. While the song would have been a decent piece of power-pop, the production value makes it feel like you’re in the room with the band, drink in hand, as Young sings about catching up with an old flame at her wedding. [3/5]
‘Sunkissed’: And now we go from the post-punk into full-blown new-wave territory. For all of the bizarre blends of organic and synthetic instrumentation across the album, this is the closest to pop perfection as the album gets out, with a lyric sheet about the band’s finest moments of the past. Compared to the other looks back on this album, this is what those warm fuzzy feelings of nostalgia should sound like. [4/5]
‘Another Nightmare’: After the sounds of a New Order-era bass tone, this is one of the bounciest songs on the record, especially when the track lifts off in the chorus with the massive haze of electric guitars and pummeling drums. For aspiring songwriters looking to figure out how to understand dynamics, here’s the perfect example of leaving the audience on the tip of their toes throughout a song. [4/5]
‘Love to Walk Away’: While the previous track may have left everything off on a punchy note, this feels like the band are trying to recapture the same kind of magic again. Even though the tune at the centre of the song is fairly decent, this probably would have benefited from being moved up further in the track listing, perhaps in between ‘Discount De Kooning’. [2.5/5]
‘The Dreamer’: For all the dysfunctional relationships that Young has described, he’s still ready to do anything for his other half, promising to be with her even in dreams. Their paths may have fallen by the wayside since their youth, but the power-pop hook of the chorus makes any of those cold faces feel slightly warmer. [3.5/5]
‘Anonymous in Los Feliz’: After reminiscing about missed opportunities with this old flame, Young finally finds himself in his former flame’s gaze again, wondering where everything will end up now that they’ve grown older. While she might be moving on to bigger and better things, here’s hoping she at least returned to him after those years. [3/5]
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.