The Vaccines

From the moment Alex Kapranos, The Maccabees, Mumford and Sons and White Lies all turned up to the band's first ever London gig, a huge buzz has surrounded The Vaccines. Led by front man Justin Young (formerly Jay Jay Pistolet) and guitarist Freddie Cowan (brother of The Horrors bassist Tom Cowan), The Vaccines soon won heavy acclaim from the critics and, burdened with the tag "the new Strokes", were acclaimed as saviours of British guitar pop. Full of brash, youthful, three-minute rock'n'roll, the fever intensified with the release of early singles Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra) and Post Break-Up Sex and the band were nominated for the BBC Sound of 2011 poll, eventually finishing third. Heavily influenced by 1960s girl groups, 1950s rockabilly, C86 and Brit-pop, debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? (2011) shot to Number 4 in the UK charts, cementing their reputation as one the most exciting young indie bands in Britain.