Combat Sports
by The Vaccines
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Mar 30, 2018
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
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  1. Reckoner296
    Mar 31, 2018
    10
    Feels like a perfect combitaion of goold old indie rock and pop music. Probably their best album to date.
  2. m_sawyer
    Apr 3, 2018
    10
    It all comes back down to 'What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?' Well, I certainly did not expect their fourth album to be an indie rock masterpiece in 201x, a crowning jewel of their energy and emotions. 'Combat Sports' comes after 'English Graffiti' - an album I loved even though some didn't (for reasons unknown). That one gave them the pop sensibility that combined with the energy ofIt all comes back down to 'What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?' Well, I certainly did not expect their fourth album to be an indie rock masterpiece in 201x, a crowning jewel of their energy and emotions. 'Combat Sports' comes after 'English Graffiti' - an album I loved even though some didn't (for reasons unknown). That one gave them the pop sensibility that combined with the energy of their debut album makes this record the best of both worlds.

    'I Can't Quit' and 'Nightclub' channel their anthems like 'If You Wanna' and 'Wreckin' Bar', 'Your Love Is My Favourite Band' and 'Maybe' continue the summer jams and Strokes influence of 'Minimal Affection' and 'Melody Calling', while 'Rolling Stones' closes the album in a bigger than life way. If it were another time, this would have signaled big things for The Vaccines. Arena size big.

    Bravo guys. You are one of the last bastions of "indie" rock.    … Expand
  3. chromaticx
    Oct 31, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Perhaps for personal taste or even for the nostalgic "air" of the debut album or English Graffiti, find this a little inferior to them - but it is still DIVINE! I love this band, I think one of the best in indie-rock, and it fulfilled what it promised: I can't quit and nightclub are impeccable! Of course, the romantic side was not left out and, despite not having the same magic of "lack of understanding" and "if you wanna", they have cohesion with the album.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. AllMusic
    Jul 25, 2018
    60
    The record is a little shaky, but it's to the band's benefit that they retain a desire to not be so serious. At those moments, the Vaccines deliver some rock & roll spark.
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  2. PopMatters
    Apr 9, 2018
    70
    Some bands experiment with broadening their sound, and it just doesn't work. It worked for the Vaccines, and in that context, a reactionary record like Combat Sports is something of a disappointment. But it's a super-fun one.
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  3. musicOMH.com
    Mar 30, 2018
    70
    Combat Sports is their shortest album yet, with none of its 11 tracks straying over four minutes, all in bursts of compact energy. Each song has a short guitar solo, while riffs and hooks abound, in stories of combative love and sex couched in Young’s characteristically wry lyrics.
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