Back In Business

There are many bands that release an album (or two), enjoy success then disband and become history. Few of those bands decide to reform after almost two decades and release a new album.The Vaselines are one of those few bands. They were born back in the '80s and disbanded shortly after the release of their first full length album, Dum Dum. In 2008, they got back together, initially only for a charity event, but things became more serious. In fact, things became so serious, that now you have the occasion to enjoy their second album, Sex With An X.

The band picks up from where they let us more than twenty years ago. However, the sound is far from being obsolete. The album is a story about broken relationships, which is no surprise if we think about the relationship between Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee. But it’s not a sad album. On the contrary, Sex With An X is sarcastic and, in its own twisted way, full of energy. This is obvious even from the first track, Ruined, which starts in a very passionless way, giving you the impression that you listen to your great-great-grandmother's gramophone. After less than 30 seconds, you are completely turned upside down by the craziest guitar you can imagine. And just like that, the journey starts.

It seems that these twenty years have passed only in our minds, because The Vaselines sound as fresh as they did back in the '80s. The guitar riffs are annoyingly catchy, the only real exception being the last track, Exit the Vaselines, a really nostalgic piece, lyrically as well as instrumentally, on which the band slows the train, proving you they also know the meaning of the word "ballad".

But the best part is the lyrics. "You feel so good, it must be bad for me / Let's do it, let's do it again / You look so right, it must be wrong for me / Let's do it, let's do it again", Kelly sings on the title track, Sex With An X. Free translation: do not go there! But Kelly and McKee believe the both partners are guilty if a relationship goes wrong. Lyrics like "I've got the devil, the devil's inside me, I've got the devil in me / And it won't let go / He made me fight, he made you fall / He made me push you against the wall" make it pretty obvious. It's the story of two people who know their qualities and especially their defects, a dialogue full of irony and at the same time, full of strange tenderness. The climax is reached in It Wasn't All Duran Duran, which brings auto irony to the highest level you could ever imagine. "What do you know? You weren't there / It wasn't all Duran Duran Duran Duran / You want the truth? Well this is it / I hate the '80s 'cause the '80s were shit".

If it's true that few are the bands that decide to come back after a very long period of time and release a new album, then it's also true that even fewer manage to come up with a decent release. This is one more reason for you to appreciate Sex With An X and give The Vaselinesa warm round of applause.

*photo courtesy of The Vaselines' MySpace