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Review: Jack Foley
THEY hail from LA, they are said to be Jet's favourite band,
and they have strong admirers in Rolling Stone magazine. But does
that mean The Vacation are any good?
Well, they're certainly not as good as they think they are. There's
plenty of swagger in the album, The Band From World War Zero,
but not enough originality to back it up.
The Vacation feel like a Jet tribute act, or an outfit who clearly
belong in a bygone era, such is their insistence on clinging to
the past so rigidly.
Hence, the Rolling Stones get sound-checked on numerous occasions,
as do the likes of T-Rex, while in some of lead singer, Ben Tegel's
vocals, the sound of Johnny Rotten becomes apparent.
This is a rock'n'roll meets punk explosion of gutsy guitars,
pounding drums and shouty vocals that occasionally gets a little
tiring.
And yet the album isn't without merit, particularly when the
outfit decides to slow things down a little and play some music.
Recent single, Destitute Prostitutes, is a cracking
record, for example, in the same sort of take no-shit style of
Jet's Cold Hard Bitch, and the Stones of the Seventies.
While No Hard Feelings is a melodic treat, a genuinely
thrilling rock 'n' roll workout that eschews all the feelgood
values of the genre, complete with old-school sensibilities.
But too many tracks follow the Liquid Lunch approach
of full-speed ahead guitars, screaming vocals and incessant drum
loops, that blend into one and eventually feel overly repetitive.
In live form, The Vacation probably deliver the goods for the
rock die-hards and mosh-pit revellers, but their act doesn't translate
well to the album.
The Band From World War Zero therefore feels like a
pretty two-star vacation and it's simply not worth making the
trip.
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Track listing:
1. White Noise
2. Make Up Your Mind
3. Spiders
4. Destitute Prostitutes
5. Cherry Cola
6. W.I.I.F.M.?
7. I'm No Good
8. Hollywood Forever
9. No Hard Feelings
10. Liquid Lunch
11. Trash
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