The Vaccines are today celebrating the release of their already acclaimed fifth album, Back In Love City, their most euphoric, visceral and visionary work to date. The new record sees the five-piece assert themselves as one of Britain’s most vital guitar bands, with 13 songs set against the fictional metropolis of the album’s title.

LISTEN HERE: https://thevaccines.ffm.to/bilc-album

The band, who are currently on the road playing a series of intimate shows comprising in-stores and dates in conjunction with the Music Venue Trust / National Lottery’s Revive Liveseries – have just announced a major tour for April 2022, including a show at London Wembley Arena, along with the release of the latest single from the album, Jump Off The Top, which premiered earlier this week. Already a firm fan favourite, its release comes with a video shot at the group’s barnstorming comeback show at London’s Forum last month. Watch the live video HERE and a separate lyric video HERE.

Inspired by fictional cities – from Ridley Scott’s version of LA in Blade Runner to Cowboy Beebop’s Fear City – as much as places like Las Vegas, Tijuana and Tokyo, the idea ofLove City took shape when the band’s frontman, Justin Young, set himself up in a house swap in Los Angeles, fuelling his fascination with disconnection: “I literally swapped lives with a stranger. I lived in in house and drove his car while he lived in mine, but we’d never met and had no previous connections.”

The album was finished early in 2020 and mixed by Andrew Maury (Lizzo, Post Malone) with additional production from Fryars (Pharrell Williams, Mark Ronson). It’s not a lockdown record, but its theme of escapism in modern life resonates more than ever in the pandemic era. It’s a massive musical leap forward for the band, too, and while the trademark surf swagger and Western flourish of The Vaccines sound remains, Back in Love City is their heaviest record so far. From the hard-hit of songs like “XCT”, “Wanderlust” and “Bandit” through to live fan favourite “Jump Off The Top” and the immediate rock n roll crash of“Headphones Baby”, it documents a band flexing at their creative peak.

Says Vaccines frontman Justin Young about the band’s return to the stage: “Playing live is the lifeblood of this band. It’s where our music comes to life and where we get to connect with all the people that make what we do possible. Not being able to do that over the last 18 months has been nothing short of awful and we can’t wait to see everyone again and do what we love doing more than anything else in the world.”

The Vaccines play:

Thurs   16th                 LONDON – Rough Trade x Brixton Electric

Weds   17th                  BRISTOL – Rough Trade x Trinity

Sat       18th                  AYLESBURY, Waterside

Mon      20th                  EXETER, Exeter Phoenix*

Tues     21st                  FROME, Cheese & Grain*

Thurs    23rd                  STOKE-ON-TRENT, Sugarmill*

Fri        24th                  NORTHAMPTON, Roadmender

Sun      26th                  BEXHILL, De la War Pavillion*

Tues     28th                  BEDFORD, Esquires*

Wed     29th                  CAMBRIDGE, Cambridge Junction*

Fri        1st        OCT     NORWICH, Waterfront*

Sun      3rd                   BRIGHTON, Concorde 2*

Mon      4th                    GLOUCESTER, Guildhall*

Tues     5th                   BOURNEMOUTH, The Old Fire Station*

Thurs   14th     APRIL  MANCHESTER – O2 Victoria Warehouse

Sat       16th                 LEEDS – O2 Academy Leeds

Mon     18th                 PORTSMOUTH – Portsmouth Guildhall

Tues    19th                 BIRMINGHAM – O2 Academy

Thurs  21st                 LONDON – SSE Wembley Arena

Sat       23rd                 NEWCASTLE – City Hall

Sun      24th                 GLASGOW – Barrowland Ballroom

Shows marked * are part of the Music Venue Trust / National Lottery’s Revive Live series For all tour / ticket info head to https://www.thevaccines.com/shows.

Back In Love City Tracklisting:

1: Back In Love City 2: Alone Star 3: Headphones Baby 4: Wanderlust 5: Paranormal Romance 6: El Paso 7: Jump Off The Top 8: XCT 9: Bandit 10: Peoples Republic Of Desire 11: Savage 12: Heart Land 13: Pink Water Pistols

The Vaccines are Justin Young (vocals, guitar), Freddie Cowan (guitar, vocals), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Tim Lanham (keyboards) and Yoann Intoni (drums). Since the band’s inception they have sold over two million records worldwide, cementing their position as torch-carriers for British guitar music in the modern era. The new record follows the tenth anniversary celebrations of their seminal debut, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? which first catapulted the band into the modern rock and roll canon. Each of their four albums so far have charted in the Top 5 in the UK, with second album, Come Of Age, hitting #1. Multiple Brit, NME, Q, Mojo awards nominees, they have a fierce live reputation forged through arena-filling headline shows and unforgettable slots at festivals including Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds.

“The Vaccines dazzle with a neon glow on “Back In Love City””

The Line of Best Fit 8/10

“Still possessing the immediacy they’ve always evoked, The Vaccines build a world to dive into on Back In Love City. The Vaccines allow their unashamed love for pop to soar on Back In Love City. Against Young’s increasingly interesting way with words, it feels like the purest Vaccines album yet”. DIY Magazine (****)

“On their fifth album ‘Back In Love City’ The Vaccines transport us to a neon-lit, sci-fi world. Inspired by sin cities and love motels, in this realm your emotions can be plugged in and out of – they’re no longer free-flowing through our brains and bodies. It’s a thought-provoking concept that provides the backbone to a record that veers from bright pop moments, driving, Ennio Morricone-indebted desert songs and tracks that are altogether heavier than your typical Vaccines song.”

NME