Review and Photography by Robert Barrett

It’s been 10 years since The Vaccines released their second album “Coming of Age”. Since then they have cast off the debut albums hype and replaced it with a solid catalogue of anthemic songs. A stop at the O2 Academy proved they have earned a place as one of Britain’s most loved indie bands.

With a quality act like Black Honey supporting, you know you’re in for a good night. Playing a short but sweet set that played the highlights from both their self-titled album and “Written and Directed by”.

Headline shows of their own meant they were almost overqualified for the support slot, with lead singer Izzy and the rest of the band delivering “I Like The Way You Die”, “Believer” and “Run for Cover” with all the power and grit required.

As “Misoulu” played from the speakers, the Vaccines took to the stage and without hesitation cracked through ‘Wanderlust” “I Cant Quit” and “I Always New”. Frontman Justin Hayward-Young taking his role to a new level, moving across the stage with his microphone hyping the audience up, gone are the days of hiding behind a guitar for the entire set.

“The first time we played this room, we were on the NME Awards Tour in 2011,” he remarked. After years of playing the Academy they knew exactly how play to its strengths. The smattering of tracks from the debut album were received like old faithful friends, whilst the energetic cuts from “Back in Love City” such as “Headphones Baby” showed potential to be future classics.

The set ended with “Wreckin Bar Ra Ra Ra” and the anthemic “All in White”, two classics from the debut that left everyone on a high. A band on top form, the vaccines showed they still have what it takes to win a crowd over.