Torchbearers for British guitar music, The Vaccines - Justin Young (lead vocals, guitars), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, vocals) and Yoann Intonti (drums) - are back with their sixth studio album Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations. The title comes from a misheard lyric from Don McClean's "American Pie," a song that for Young fittingly evokes the death of innocence and the American Dream. After he moved to Los Angeles - a city the band has grown up being captivated by - he was forced to wrestle with the disillusionment that comes when expectations, dreams, and reality don't quite meet. Yet, though Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations is an album about reconciling with loss, it's also filled with gratitude for the people and places we once loved. "Pink carnations symbolise gratitude and tell a person they’ll never be forgotten," says Young. "So whether it's the loss of a lover, or a friend, or even just a dream, the record is a reminder that they’ll live on in whatever capacity the mind allows them to. And it's a reminder to keep on dreaming.” Produced by Andrew Wells (Halsey, Phoebe Bridgers) with Mixing from Dave Fridmann (Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips), Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations is an immediately anthemic addition to the band's discography. With a mammoth five UK Top 5 albums – including a Number 1 with 2012’s Come of Age – and a fierce live reputation forged through arena-filling headline shows and unforgettable slots at Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds, The Vaccines continue to be a vital band in the British rock canon.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: A brilliantly produced ode to the follies of human existence and joys of persistence from London indie-rockers, The Vaccines. Bright guitars and snappy synths punctate the wry delivery of vocalist, Justin Hayward-Young. It's a brilliantly nuanced and uplifting return for the band.TRACK LISTING
1. Sometimes, I Swear
2. Heartbreak Kid
3. Lunar Eclipse
4. Discount De Kooning (Last One Standing)
5. Primitive Man
6. Primitive Man
7. Another Nightmare
8. Love To Walk Away
9. The Dreamer
10. Anonymous In Los Feliz