What did we expect from The Vaccines? Nothing quite as good as this, in honesty

09 April 2015, 16:49 | Written by Lucas Fothergill

(Live)

(The Vaccines)

“Here’s a golden oldie,” says frontman Justin Young before the band launches into 2013’s "Melody Calling", in a telling (and self-aware) sign of just how rapid the group’s ascension into rock’n’roll’s big-time has been. Their current tour might see The Vaccines eschew the arenas they could oh-so-easily headline for mid-sized venues, but surely major festival headline slots beckon in the not-too-distant future? Let’s not forget, it was in 2012 that Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, heralded The Vaccines as future headliners of Reading & Leeds. Not bad considering the group have only been around for five years now.

Regardless, in the here-and-now, The Vaccines are clearly just enjoying themselves. Coming back from a much-overdue break (they had been gigging relentlessly) for this tour, the band look pumped and energised.

The Vaccines at Electric Brixton delivered on everything you could possibly want from The Vaccines at Electric Brixton - that being just over an hour of raucous, uproarious indie rock. The crowd were more than happy to oblige them in this pursuit, pogoing from start to finish.

The set now spans across three albums, including the previously released singles from the forthcoming English Graffiti. There’s the ruckus-inducing, fuzzy pop-rock of "Handsome" and the slick, glam-y riff-centric "Dream Lover", both being received so well it was as if these songs had been around since 2011.

But we also got a preview of some other new material set to drop on us. "I Want You So Bad" is the closest the group have come to sounding funky, but the best was "20/20", which looks set (to be single-bound?) to fit in amongst the host of other Vaccines songs designed solely to make you lose your inhibitions and dance at a shit-hot gig – like Electric Brixton. Because, well, it was a lot of fun and also really, really hot. Sweat everywhere.

The new material suggests a continued evolution, not revolution. We have an incoming album that brings something new, but still not too drastic a departure from what we’ve come to expect from The Vaccines.

Biggest reactions of the night were reserved for all the first album giants, with "Wetsuit", "Post Break-Up Sex" and "All In White" bringing out huge sing-a-longs. "If You Wanna" had everyone pogoing, and then traditional set-closer "Norgaard" brought about unadulterated bedlam in Brixton. Also, Justin’s acoustic rendition of "No Hope" was a nice touch.

It was hot, it was fast and it was fun. The set, clocking in at around an hour fifteen, was on the short side, but with a sweaty set chock full of more bangers than you’d find in a sausage factory – what more did you expect from The Vaccines?