The Vaccines once again immunize Brazil and examine the band’s growth: ‘We never felt part of a scene’

The Vaccines returned to Brazil after 11 years in style: forming a complete circle. The band made their debut in the country in 2012, when they performed at Cine Joia, the same concert venue that welcomed them last Thursday, the 21st.

“It’s very surreal. The first time we came here, we were in the line-up of Coachella also, the previous week and the following week. So, we went down to Brazil and we were super tired. It was our first time in Latin America,” he said. Justin Young in an interview with Rolling Stone Brazil. He spoke to the press in the dressing room hours before taking the stage.

The vocalist described the experience as “a real whirlwind” and added: “We didn’t have time to do or absorb anything. But I remember here. As soon as they said we would play at Cine Joia, I remembered. And actually, just now, I was watching videos from the last time we played here. It’s an incredible place.”

Playing in the same place he played more than a decade ago was paradoxical for the Vaccines. Some artists who performed there in the past gained so many fans that they no longer fit there.

Young admitted that he thinks “often” about the success achieved by the group, which gained notoriety quickly, but consolidated itself in 2010, when the indie wave was softer. “I wonder if we would be much bigger if we had emerged in 2003 or 2004, or maybe we would be smaller due to greater competition”, he confessed.

You know, it’s impossible to say. I think we always felt like we were an island, kind of isolated, and never really part of a scene. Sometimes I think we feel a little sad about it, but other times we think maybe it helped us because it allowed us to step forward and shine a little brighter. I’m not sure I have an answer.

The group was punctual: at 9:15 pm they received a warm welcome from the fans, who filled the place. Young He made a point of reading and taking all the posters that were within his reach. He gave a setlist to someone in the audience while the performance was still underway, but asked that it be kept secret until the end of the show. “No one wants to open presents before Christmas,” he joked.

YoannIntonti signed autographs at the end of the night, before leaving the stage for good. In return, the audience sang and jumped during all the tracks, even though they were threatened by the intense heat typical of Cine Joia.

Fans weren’t shy even when it was time for tracks from the band’s most recent album. Vaccinesthe Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnationsreleased in January this year. Second Youngthe album’s title references the song “American Pie”, by Don McLean: “It kind of came to me, and I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I knew it sounded good. A few weeks later, I realized it was a forgotten memory of a lyric from Don McLean“.

“That ended up going into the song ‘The Dreamer,’ which was kind of about the American dream and the death of innocence and youth and all that stuff. And obviously that’s what his song is about as well. So I thought there was a certain serendipity in that”, he argued.

The track directly inspired by McLean is currently preferred by Youngbut the position was once held by “Primitive Man”. No longerthe song of McLeanhe sings: “I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck / With a pink carnation and a pickup truck / But I knew I was out of luck / The day the music died” With a pink carnation flower and a pickup truck / But I knew I was out of luck / The day the music died.”

I think it’s an album about loss, but also about how through that loss comes growth, learning to love yourself and then finding love again. I think that although there is pain, there is also hope and optimism and happiness, you know?

The group played most of the songs from the most recent album. The tracks “Love to Walk Away”, “Discount de Kooning (Last One Standing)”, “The Dreamer”, “Heartbreak Kid”, “Sometimes, I Swear” and “Lunar Eclipse” were included in the setlist. There was, however, space for the band’s other five albums, especially the one that made them famous: What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?(2011).

The work in question was carried out when the Vaccines maintained another formation. Justin played alongside Árni Árnason, Pete Robertson and Freddie Cowan. Robertson He was the first to leave the group. Last year, it was the turn of Cowan. Timothy Lanham and Yoann Intonti were added over the years.

“Tim started in 2014, so he’s been in the band for 10 years, and the Yoann joined in 2016, so he’s been there for almost nine years. Pete he stayed for just five years. So, in fact, we’ve made more records together, we’ve been in the band for a lot longer”, he pondered. Young when asked about his position as an original member of the group with Arnason.

The singer reflected: “And this is not something that changes overnight. Things, I think, evolve slowly and so it becomes much easier to adapt. Maybe the Vaccines whether it’s like a football team or something. If you love a football team, the team you loved ten years ago doesn’t have the same coach, doesn’t have the same players, doesn’t have the same shirt, doesn’t have the same coach, often not even the same owner.”

“Sometimes they change cities, sometimes they play in different colors when they’re not in their home stadium, the logo changes, everything about them changes,” he continued. “But it’s that concept that remains the same. I think as long as someone wants to be in Vaccinesmay be in Vaccines. And when that stops making sense for that person’s life, we’re sad to see them go, but that’s it.”

I think every album is like a photograph of a moment in time and reflects where you are in life, who you are, how you’re feeling, what you’re listening to, what inspires you. Obviously, you have your process and things that you’re naturally drawn to as a person, artist, and music fan. But I think it would be almost impossible to make an album sound exactly the same three or four years later if you’re being authentic with what appeals to you. We made this record three or four years after the last one. So we’re older and, I hope, wiser, and we’re interested and inspired by different things. I think as a result, there’s a little more musicianship and an authenticity, a kind of honesty that we’re always trying to refine with every album we release. I don’t know for sure.

Young He further revealed that the album “was made and written on the West Coast” and many of its tracks “got their first spark” while he was driving. That’s probably why the cover and music by Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations can transport listeners to a road trip.

The vocalist even said that he recently left Los Angeles. Today, he lives in London, as well as Lanham: “Yoann lives in Paris, Arni lives in Reykjavik, Iceland. Tim and I are living in London now. Matt [Hitt]who plays guitar with us, lives in New York.”