Album Review: The Vamps – Meet The Vamps
3 min read
The Vamps are yet another British boy band to emerge in the last couple of years, but were not (thankfully) the product of a reality television show. James McVey, the lead guitarist, already had a manager in 2011, but decided he wanted to form a band. Therefore, he found fellow band members Bradley Simpson and Tristan Evans through the social media channels of YouTube and Facebook. Connor Ball was the last to join the band and the quartet immediately began work on writing a debut album. The group of 18 – 20 year olds already have a huge fan base thanks to touring with McFly, Taylor Swift, The Wanted and Little Mix. The Vamps seem to have it all, but will their album be good enough to solidify their place in an industry with too many teenage boy bands already?
Meet The Vamps is the title of their debut album. Despite being a rather terrible title (seriously, they should have just gone with The Vamps), it gets off to a fun and upbeat start with single Wild Heart. This catchy pop track is followed by the third album single Last Night, which has the same endearing and catchy melody with a slower tempo. These tracks are pure pop at their best, and bring a smile to the listener’s face. The same can be said of the smash single Can We Dance; written by Bruno Mars, it was inevitable that it would be a hit and it’s one to bring out at parties and sing at the top of your lungs.
The album is filled with fun pop numbers. Whilst songs like Oh Cecilia, Dangerous and Lovestruck have cliche lyrics and melodies that can become easily forgettable, they are fun and vibrant songs that begin to create a niche for The Vamp’s style of music. Girls On TV offers something a little different with a reggae vibe, and gives us the now almost normal ‘name dropping’ in songs, by mentioning pop superstars Beyonce and Rihanna.What is impressive is that the boys have written or co-written 12/15 songs on the album. It shows that they really want the album to have a personal feel, and it’ll set them in good stead for future albums.
However, there are some songs that don’t hit the mark. Risk It All, She Was The One and Smile all seem to have strange melodies that are either disjointed or just don’t work, and lyrics that are far too simplistic. Track High Hopes starts off promising with great verses against a laid back melody, but the melody change at the chorus just makes things incoherent and strange.
But these are just a rare few on Meet The Vamps, and can be easily forgotten about when listening to stand out tracks Another World, Move My Way and Shout About It. Another World is a ballad that showcases Brad’s vocals and the bands fantastic harmonies, and is quite reminiscent of a One Direction ballad. Move My Way is a pop gem, with the same loveable melody as the other hit singles but gets the balance of the melody just right. Shout About It comes as a total surprise – don’t let the title fool you. It’s a stripped back song that allows more emotional depth and is just so gentle and sweet that you can’t help but love it.
The Vamps have delivered a solid debut album with Meet The Vamps. Whilst some songs don’t quite cut it, the majority are fun and vibrant pop songs which perfectly suit the band. However, with the amount of exisiting and emerging boy bands in the industry today, is this enough to secure The Vamp’s stamp on the music world? For this reviewer, it’s too early to tell.
