A thundering guitar followed by the noticeably deeper voice of The Vaccines front man Justin Young opens the band’s second instalment, Come of Age.
A confident title suggesting change, the band may have fallen short on their ambition to become a strong rock band, as opposed to their indie label. The album contains a heavier sound, but overall things have been tentatively done.
Anticipation must have weighed heavily on the four-piece after 2011’s overhyped debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines. Contrary to the name of the album’s first song title, No Hope, things start off promising, and backed up with Teenage Icon, the band doesn’t yet fall short of expectations. However, the album lacks the certain something that What Did You Expect… had. The debut album didn’t leave room for questioning the release of six singles, this time round, you’d wonder is there need for more after the release of I Always Knew in November.
Vocals being reviewed as reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s, guitar riffs comparable to The Libertines, and I Wish I Was A Girl sounding as though it should be on an Arctic Monkeys record, The Vaccines haven’t failed at anything, but maybe this is just something we can listen to as we wait for more.
Often a second album brings us back down to earth after a captivating first release, and this certainly has. You may well find yourself listening, but not in the same absorbed state as before.
Rating: 3.5/5
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