The Vaccines

YouTube uploads and pub gigs made London's Vaccines (originally singer/guitarist Justin Young, guitarist Freddie Cowan, bassist Árni Árnason and drummer Pete Robertson) a near-immediate sensation when they first appeared in 2010. Like the Arctic Monkeys, one of many guitar bands they were compared to, the Vaccines made their first wave with a song posted online: The relentlessly catchy "If You Wanna" was uploaded in August of that year; by November they had enough of a buzz to draw members of Mumford & Sons and Franz Ferdinand to their sold-out London debut. "Next big thing" status followed, along with comparisons to previous big things like the Strokes and the Jesus & Mary Chain. They wound up working with members of both those bands: The JMC's former bassist Doug Hart directed the video for their first physical single, "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)", and the Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr. produced 2011's "Tiger Blood." (At a tidy 84 seconds, "Wreckin' Bar" was one of the shortest songs ever to chart in the UK.)  The band's international breakthrough continued that year as they released their debut album (What Do You Want from the Vaccines?), headlined the Reading Festival, made their US debut at South by Southwest, and appeared on David Letterman's show in the US and Jools Holland's in the UK. The second album Come of Age had more polished production (by veteran Ethan Johns) and an eye-grabbing cover, with four teenaged girls who resembled the bandmembers. It became their first album to hit Number One in the UK. The third album English Graffiti marked a shift of gears as producer Dave Friedmann brought in more keyboards and a glossier, glam-inspired sound. The single "Dream Lover" was an arena-ready anthem, and there was room for some Pink Floyd spaciness on the closing "Undercover." The album continued the Vaccines' UK success, charting at #2, though a US breakthrough remained elusive. Following its release drummer Robertson left and was replaced by Yoann Intonti; touring keyboardist Tim Lanham was also promoted to full bandmember. Before the release of 2018's Combat Sports, the band announced a more polished '70s-inspired sound, suggesting they'd heard Big Star. Despite a few sonic tweaks, the Vaccines' hooks and hedonism remained in place, and Young hadn't lost his knack for a good catchphrase ("Your Love is My Favorite Band"). The band continued to get celebrated in the UK (the album hit #4) and largely ignored in the US.