Send "The Vaselines " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 When the Vaselines reunited a couple of years ago, they didn't pretend they had much to add to what they'd accomplished in the late 1980s: two EPs and a brief album, all of them brisk, frothy, wittily stupid, magnificently hooky, and horny enough to shatter granite. But their reunion also seemed like a "fuck it, why not?" move. The Glasgow-based duo of Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly were never exactly careerists-- it's not their problem that Nirvana covered three of their songs-- and their 2008-2009 tour seemed like a one-off frolic rather than any kind of commitment or cash-in.Yet here they are again, backed up by members of Belle and Sebastian and the 1990s, and produced by Jamie Watson (who recorded them the first time around, too). The album's got a cute title, with the double meaning of "check out how hot we are" and "hooking up again with the person you used to date." Almost any of these simple two-riff, verse-chorus songs would have made a perfectly acceptable addition to their original records (and they're better than anything either Kelly or McKee has come up with since they broke up); in particular, "I Hate the 80's" is a welcome bit of grumpy oldsterism and "Turning It On" is built on juicy love/hate sentiments. The band's twanging, strummy arrangements and McKee and Kelly's bedroom-eyed thrust-and-parry are exactly like they were the first time around....full text |
| Snobsmusic |
| Scottish duo The Vaselines only released one proper album, but with it they had a huge impact on underground music. Countless bands were inspired by the pair, not the least of which is their well-documented influence on Kurt Cobain. Now 20 years later Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly have reunited to release their follow-up album, Sex With An X, which comes out on September 14th. The sound may be a little bit harder and the production a little bit cleaner, okay a lot cleaner, than it was the first time around, but the essence of The Vaselines and their songs has remained the same. Strong hooks bounce around fairly straightforward arrangements, creating a series of memorable tunes like "I Hate the '80s". Even the vocals haven't missed a beat. The harmonies on tracks like "Such a Fool" are spot on, while the back-and-forth interplay turn songs like "Turning It On" into highlights. The tongue-in-cheek sense of humour and clever lyrical twists return with a vengeance. Any well-adjusted person should feel dirty doing your singalong to a track like "Overweight But Over You", but you simply can not help it. Elsewhere, "My God's Bigger Than Your God" evokes Neil Gaiman-like images of Yahweh putting Zeus in a headlock in some epic struggle. Alas, Odin is tragically overlooked once again....full text |
| Bbc |
| It’s difficult to talk about Scottish fuzz-poppers The Vaselines without mentioning the ‘C’ word, so let’s get it out of the way. It’s certainly fair to say that they’re best known for Kurt Cobain’s patronage – Nirvana covered three of their songs (Son of a Gun, Molly’s Lips and Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam), and he even named his daughter Frances Bean after vocalist/guitarist Frances McKee – but that shouldn’t be allowed to obscure the rest of this intriguing story. Formed in 1986, the band’s original tenure lasted only a few years – and produced just the one album. They broke up shortly after 1989 debut LP Dum-Dum, and despite several live reunions in the interim, have remained silent on the recording front since. It’s been 21 years in the making, then, but Sex with an X is a triumphant return, not to mention a reminder of just how influential their sound has been since they split – The Moldy Peaches, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Vivian Girls all owe considerable debts, for starters. Recorded with original producer Jamie Watson and featuring members of Belle and Sebastian (Stevie Jackson plays guitar, Bobby Kildea bass) and 1990s (Michael McGaughrin, drums), it’s a record that reaffirms the power of simplicity in pop music. A few chords, a load of melody and some swooning boy-girl harmonies is their formula – one oft employed, but rarely done this well....full text |
The Vaselines lyrics
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