The Vaselines were originally one of a slew of bands that came out of the mid- to late-80s’ Shambling/C86 scene. Characterised by low production values and low commercial expectations, their Dum-Dum album and a couple of EPs made little impression on Planet Pop and the band split. Then along came Kurt Cobain – who declared the band’s mainstays, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, his “favourite songwriters in the whole world” and recorded three of their songs with Nirvana. Kelly and McKee’s songwriting royalties swelled accordingly and, after a couple of false starts, the Vaselines finally reformed in 2008, releasing their somewhat backward-looking second album, Sex with an X, a couple of years later.
The Vaselines’ third album, V for Vaselines, sees Kelly and McKee in leather biker chic on the cover and an injection of new flavours to their sound that often finds them at the musical mid-point between the poppy end of the Ramones’ and My Bloody Valentine’s output. “High Tide Low Tide” is pure homage to the Ramones – with plenty of bah-bah-bah-bahs to accompany the frantic strumming and the slightly goofy lyrics. “One Lost Year” and “Crazy Lady” likewise have more than a sniff of everyone’s favourite New Yorkers about them. It’s not all high-speed strum-alongs and “Single Spies” is considerably more mellow, if a bit twee. This laidback change of gear is temporary though and things soon liven up by adding a dash of My Bloody Valentine to the mix. “Earth is Speeding” and “Number One Crush” particularly bring an off-kilter dissonance to the proceedings without slowing the tempo. It is the exquisite break-up song, “False Heaven”, however, where the Vaselines really hit the spot - with McKee’s bitter-sweet lead vocals and Kelly’s harmonies over a prime slice of indie pop.
Almost thirty years’ on, it’s safe to say that Kurt Cobain would still be a fan of the Vaselines’ melodic but speedy guitar pop.
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