The Vaccines have caused somewhat of a love/hate divide within the indie music scene since their arrival on the scene 3 years ago. Debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines offered instantly catchy indie-pop tunes which won them a legion of fans, but also had others doubting their credibility.
A lot has happened since then: this summer has even seen them support The Rolling Stones as well as being a festival headline band in their own right. Anticipation for their new EP Melody Calling has been high as fans wonder which direction they’ll take next. The band have been working on the EP in LA and the American influence is clear in title track 'Melody Calling' with its light and summery vibe. Unfortunately the track seems like a desperate attempt to try something different, but not quite getting there. There’s nothing groundbreaking here and the lyrics are almost irritatingly repetitive. Die hard fans of the band may consider this unfair, but it just isn’t what was expected from this much anticipated release.
Listen to the EP's title track below
Luckily though things do start to look up with the other tracks on the release. Again, 'Everybody’s Gonna Let You Down' isn’t something that you’d have expected from The Vaccines but it works as a track, some slightly clichéd lyrics aside. After the slight disappointment of opening track 'Melody Calling' their new summer-tinged, light hearted style is beginning to settle in. Then comes 'Do You Want A Man', which is best track on the release. Again, it doesn’t sound like The Vaccines, but it’s proving that they can do this new, less raucous, more laid back sound, and they can do it well.
Listen to 'Everybody's Gonna Let You Down' below
How fans who have been with the band from the start will feel about this release is unsure, but with further developments you can see this new sound winning them a whole new legion of followers. Let’s just hope they don’t forget about the old ones entirely.
