When Scottish indie-pop heroes the Vaselines came back for their musical victory lap in 2011 with Sex With A X, nobody begrudged them their moment. After all, most of their popularity came after they had called it a day the first time around, and so they were finally able to bring their music to the masses.
Album number three, V For Vaselines, feels a little like a redundant followup. The band were apparently heavily influenced by the Ramones this time around, and the resulting sounds strips the band of quite a bit of their charm. It's not a complete blowout: There are ten perfectly serviceable pop songs here, with buzzing guitars and familiar harmonies, and since this is the Vaselines, there are a few nice lyrical double entendres thrown in, but that's about it.
The tracks begin to bleed together way before the halfway point of the album and there's not a single surprise to be had throughout. The Vaselines are facing diminishing returns in the studio; hopefully this will turn out to be their swansong, rather than making us witness their slow descent back into obscurity.
(Rosary)Album number three, V For Vaselines, feels a little like a redundant followup. The band were apparently heavily influenced by the Ramones this time around, and the resulting sounds strips the band of quite a bit of their charm. It's not a complete blowout: There are ten perfectly serviceable pop songs here, with buzzing guitars and familiar harmonies, and since this is the Vaselines, there are a few nice lyrical double entendres thrown in, but that's about it.
The tracks begin to bleed together way before the halfway point of the album and there's not a single surprise to be had throughout. The Vaselines are facing diminishing returns in the studio; hopefully this will turn out to be their swansong, rather than making us witness their slow descent back into obscurity.