Take a Vacation

Just popped an advance copy of "The Vacation"s self-titled US release into the player and WOW, this band has some serious hooks! Coupled with buzzsaw guitars and high-energy vocals this is an album that doesn't mess around. Just a note, this is basically a re-release of their UK debut album "Band from World War Zero" with a couple of additional songs.

Twins Ben and Steve Tegel front the group, and both profess a deep affection for that canon of 60s and 70s UK rock 'n' roll bands whose names start with the much-emulated The prefix. So think The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and The Sex Pistols for a sense of the swaggering showmanship on offer here.

Despite the fact that lead singer Ben Tegel sounds just like Dead Kennedys front man Jello Biafra, The Vacation sound is closer to the thrusting exuberance of The Stooges and T Rex, both cited influences. Feisty opener "White Noise" is a case in point. It's full of cool hooks and yelling, and just screams 'look at me in my tight trousers!' And that's the best thing about The Vacation.

They have the kind of well-oiled animal magnetism that just doesn't exist in the glut of anaemic love-pap currently dominating mainstream UK music. Ironically the twins describe "White Noise" as a song about the impossibility of silence in today's media-saturated society.

It's this touching sincerity that makes their songs so adorable. Take "Destitute Prostitutes", the first single for release, which sounds like some violent cross breed of AC/DC and The Vines. It howls self confidence and is sure to recommend the Hollywood exports as stadium-size entertainers. According to guitarist Ben, the song is a well-meaning ballad about embracing outsider status.

Producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Supergrass, The Thrills) stayed on board with the band after his influence on their initial EP, 'They Were The Sons', helped win the hearts of UK festival goers. It means The Vacation have retained a gritty and urgent sound, check out the aural onslaught of "Make Up Your Mind". And it means they've adhered to the structural consistency that guarantees a good pop song, as in "Cherry Cola" and stand out track "Trash".

Having already garnered the admiration of fellow rockers Jet, The Vacation are proceeded by a reputation for libidinous live acts and technical accomplishment. Band From World War Zero will delight their fans, and hopefully win some new ones. Best played loud.

The Vacation - The Vacation
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Album not available until April 25, 2006 -- Check out their site here!


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