| Torchbearers for British guitar music, The Vaccines - Justin Young (lead vocals, guitars), Arni Arnason (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 theyll 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 theyll 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 2012s 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. |
