Interview: The Vaccines

Words by Scenewave Australia - Published on November 23, 2012

The Vaccines are currently touring on the back of their sophomore record, Come of Age, and will bring their animated guitar-pop show to Australia over New Years for Field Day, Falls Festival and some sideshows in Brisbane and Melbourne. We recently chatted with Pete, the drummer, from the British four-piece, about upcoming festival Field Day (check out the lineup here), touring Australia and how he perceives the differences between the first and second albums.

The Vaccines first visited Australia for Splendour in the Grass in 2011, playing in front of a pumped up Woodford crowd in the late afternoon. “It was all a bit of a dream, I have a very hazy memory of it. We were pretty jet-lagged after getting back from Japan and it was a pretty hectic time. It was a great gig, a beautiful festival, and we stayed out afterwards watching the bands on the hill with the sun going down. It was a beautiful day.”

After their previous success in Oz, the West-London rockers can’t wait for their upcoming gig at Field Day, in Sydney. “I can’t wait for this summer. I can’t think of a better place to spend new years than Australia, it’s one of my favourite places to play in the world and I love hanging out there and meeting people. That’s what music is about I think.” The drummer is also chomping at the bit for some action down in Marion Bay for Falls Festival. “I’ve heard Tasmania is very beautiful, and I can’t wait – it’s gonna be a great time.”

If you can’t make it to Falls Festival or Field Day 2013 (tickets on sale now), worry not, for the sideshows accompanied by Two Door Cinema Club and local Brisbane act, The Jungle Giants, promise to be huge. “Those gigs are going to be amazing. Two Door Cinema Club are a great live band and our paths have crossed many times. They’re really great guys and we hear that they are like the biggest thing down in Australia. We’re looking forward to getting to know the Jungle Giants as well. To be part of those gigs will be great for us.”

We’ve been killing Come of Age here at scenewave.com, personal favourites being ‘I Always Knew’, ‘Aftershave Ocean’ and ‘I Wish I Was A Girl’. It’s definitely got a different vibe from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines, however that certainly isn’t a bad thing. “I feel like it’s a logical progression from the first record and that we’ve progressed a lot. We’ve put some of the sonic stuff from What Did You Expect, behind us – the reverb, the delay, and that sort of stuff, and have gone for a much dryer, straight-up approach, which I think we’ve benefitted from.  For me, Come of Age has a lot more personality to it. I think it’s more of an expression of what we want to sound like as a band. I feel like an album should be a snapshot of who you are at that particular moment and I think that’s been well captured in this latest record. It’s something we’re very proud of.”

For those fans feeling a little apprehensive to have a listen to Come of Age, Pete says that, “if you want to get to know The Vaccines a little better, then you should go get the record. It shows that there’s more to us than you may have originally thought. We feel more confident and comfortable to let people into our world and I think that’s what music is for.”

The Vaccines new record, Come of Age, is available from iTunes now, and we recommend getting your dirty little paws on it, because it’s a cracker.

Grab your tickets for Field Day 2013 here, for $145. On sale now!