THE VACCINES

Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations (Super Easy)

More than a decade in, what do you expect from The Vaccines? Their new record, Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations, is sure to meet their fans’ expectations. The quintessential indie rock band of the 2010s does well to live up to that title; the riff-crazy Lunar Eclipse is an excellent earworm, and Heartbreak Kid is a thoroughly likeable power ballad you don’t hear much anymore.

Frontman Justin Young and his move to Los Angeles has had a big effect – “I saw the truth, as it came into view,” he sings on Sunkissed. It brings to mind a searingly hot mountain range and cheered me with a well-placed reference to LA hero Dennis Wilson. Pick-Up Full Of Carnations is an album resplendent with good times and radio hits: unapologetically commercial, yes, but it would be great to see what The Vaccines could achieve if they could stretch their fingers a little further next time.

words BILLY EDWARDS