The Vaccines

Brighton Centre, King’s Road, Thursday, November 19

IN the modern music world a work-rate that produces three top five albums and an EP in the space of four years is not to be sniffed at.

But for Vaccines guitarist Freddie Cowan it’s not enough.

“I get frustrated by the modern infrastructure of the music industry,” he says.

“You’re touring for 80% of the time, and only spending 20% making music. People are getting better at being touring bands, but as musicians I want us to be more prolific. I would like us to put out an album every 18 months.”

He points to the hero of all ambitious songwriters – Brian Wilson – as an example of what can be achieved when the touring duties are reduced.

After all Wilson went from making the likes of Little Deuce Coupe to Pet Sounds in the two years after he quit life on the road with The Beach Boys.

Although, in common with most artists, The Vaccines haven’t yet created their own God Only Knows, their third album English Graffiti does show a development from the indie-pop thrash of early single Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra).

That early energy is still present in songs like 20/20 and Radio Bikini, but deeper keyboard-driven cuts like (All Afternoon) In Love, the electro-pop of Denial and the Strokes-esque Minimal Affection suggest the band is pushing for new directions.

“It takes a lot of discipline to write and maintain an artistic side when you’re on tour,” says Cowan.

“It was difficult getting the motor running again, we were a little bit rusty.

“There is an emphasis in alternative music to do something new that has never been heard before – like putting a vocal sample through a distortion pedal to create a riff.

“It’s not interesting to hear a straight rhythm guitar, you have got to do it completely differently.

“We are being turned on by St Vincent and Deerhoof – but that music didn’t represent our personality. This record for me was about trying to explore new places. It’s a very searching record in both its content and execution.”

In the process Cowan admits there was a lot of material that didn’t make it onto the final album.

“It had nothing to do with the band and didn’t make sense to us,” he says. “We started to learn what the band meant and what we valued in it. A lot of great artists we admire have a lot of discipline in what their basic elements are – people like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Strokes and Nick Cave.

“They are very aware of what they do and who they are – what works and what makes up their sound.”

Helping make English Graffiti were producers Dave Fridmann – of Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev fame – and Cole MGN who received a co-writing credit on the finished album.

“We had talked about getting a fifth member of the band,” says Cowan.

“We were watching a film about The Who and their relationship with [manager and producer] Chris Stamp. We wanted someone like him who was a big brother – talented with a great ear, knowledge and perspective on what the band was and what we were capable of.

“We wanted Cole to have an equal say in everything to help us achieve something, which isn’t really a producer’s job.

“We became a close unit – we wrote and did everything together – Cole really was one of us. It was more like a Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno relationship [the duo who worked together on U2’s biggest albums]. Lanois was a musician and one of the guys, while Eno had a great set of ears and a great mind.”

Cole, whose credits also include Beck’s critically acclaimed return to form Morning Phase, and Julia Holter’s last two albums, is now back in the studio on other projects, while the band is on the road.

“I spoke to him the other day,” says Cowan. “It felt like ten years since we made the record together. It all goes back to that idea of the musician’s job to be on the road – modern pop music is about teams of producers working for artists who are touring.”

That said it's a big leap from playing Concorde 2 in January to the 5,000-capacity Brighton Centre in November.

"The Brighton Centre is a great space," says Cowan, who has already played the space before. "The sound's good, you have so much electricity, power and moving air it makes the job easier. What's hard is making five people in a room go for it rather than 5,000 fans who are there to have a good time."

As for the future Cowan has a dream for where he wants The Vaccines to go next.

“I’d really like us to make a rock record,” he says. “There’s a huge appetite for rock in Europe and South America. It’s what I am most into at the moment. I feel like we’ve come close but I would love to take it on, with everything we have learned so far.

“Something solid with great guitars, to do it right.”

Support from Palma Violets and Sunflower Bean.

Duncan Hall

Doors 6.30pm, tickets £25. Call 08448 471515.