Fuel has been added to the English Graffiti fire this week with new track ‘Dream Lover’ being offered to the snatching jaws of ravenous fans of The Vaccines. Premiered at this year’s NME Awards, Justin Young and co. surely looked to make a statement of intent with this sultry psalm, as they skulked around the Brixton stage last month – if the record’s first single, ‘Handsome’ is the night before, then ‘Dream Lover’ is surely the morning after, a buzzing high followed by the inevitable moody comedown.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlxazz18oOo&w=740&h=422]
This release surely shows a transformation taking place for The Vaccines, the first two albums portraying the ecstasy and passion that is clearly at the heart of the four-piece, but now we see a pronounced skewing – the light shining on the band shifting from a vibrant glow to a near-black glimmer. This untried side of The Vaccines mirrors almost perfectly the new (and arguably improved) AM-era Arctic Monkeys, a leather-clad reincarnation of their former selves – not only does ‘Dream Lover’ sound a little like Sheffield’s finest, but The Vaccines are also voyaging into murky waters unknown, as English Graffiti could well fill the shoes left empty since AM has dropped off the map, transcending the usual bounds of both indie and mainstream rock music.
With a potent brew of untamed, unrelenting lyrics and intricately weaved guitar from Freddie Cowan, before a quick flourish of unexpected synths, this offering leaves you confused as to whether you really know The Vaccines at all, and you can’t help but imagine what the new album will look like as a finished piece. What we do know is, there’s more to this band than you would have been led to believe before you heard ‘Dream Lover’.
Words by George Birch