The English indie rockers' fifth long-player,
Back in Love City, sees the
Vaccines looking for connections in an emotionally disconnected world and injecting an overflowing syringe of glitzy West Coast pop sheen into their melodic punk core. Recorded in El Paso with Swedish/American producer Daniel Ledinsky (
Tove Lo,
TV on the Radio,
Rihanna), the 13-track set has all of the hallmarks of a
Vaccines production, with plenty of snappy, surf-tinged festival pleasers with simple yet effective
Ramones-style melodies. Commencing with the strident, electro-pop-tinged title track, the band heats up early with a pair of top-notch sugary stadium shakers ("Alone Star" and "Headphones Baby") that set the tone for what's to come. Even at their most reductive, the
Vaccines have always maintained an unwavering current of electricity, and they apply that voltaic sleight of hand liberally, especially on the relentless "Wanderlust" and ebullient "Jump Off the Top." The puffy,
Gary Glitter-aping "Savage" doesn't fare as well, nor does the near-constant influx of motormouth verses that yield fist-pumping choruses. The surprisingly sincere love letter to America, "Heart Land," is a bit of an outlier, as is the cascading closer "Pink Water Pistols," but for the most part, the band plays things relatively safe. Even so, the
Vaccines are adept enough architects of early aughts U.K. guitar rock (
Kaizer Chiefs,
Franz Ferdinand, etc.) to know how to craft an earworm, and the reliable
Back in Love City is filthy with hooks, even if you've heard them a million times before. ~ James Christopher Monger