No Hope

Album: The Vaccines Come Of Age (2012)
Charted: 37
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the first single to be released from The Vaccines' second album, The Vaccines Come Of Age. Frontman Justin Young said: "We all felt it was a really good bridge between the first record and the second record." The song received its first play on Zane Lowe's BBC 1 Radio show on May 28, 2012.
  • Young said of the upbeat track to NME: "This is our coming of age song. It's about growing up and getting old."
  • The angsty tune was inspired by struggles Young has experienced in his twenties. He explained to The Sun: "People always told me that my teens would be the most confusing, difficult transitionary period of my life. But I was so idiotic and reckless in my teens that I didn't find them hard at all. I was just kissing girls and smoking weed. Now I've become more highly strung and found my twenties a lot harder.

    Meeting people for the first time and knowing they're deciding whether or not you're good-looking, talented, charismatic or not. It's a head f--k. People are at different steps on the same path when before we were all neck and neck. It's just confusing and scary."
  • Young told NME: "I wrote it in our rehearsal space when I was waiting for the others to come in: the melody was written within half an hour: It wears is heart on its sleeve and I think that's really important - if you want people to emotionally invest in what you do then you have to be uncomfortably honest."
  • The single version's B-side "Blow Your Mind" was written and sung by bass player Arni Hjorvar. It ties in with the single's artwork, which depicts a young girl resembling him.
  • Young explained the album title to NME: "I quite liked that the first record was quite disarming and didn't take itself too seriously, so I liked the idea of doing something similar on this album. The title isn't actually a reference to the band... it's a reference to being a human being. We used a lyric from the first single, like we did on the first album. I love the idea of continuity."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Janet Jackson

Janet JacksonFact or Fiction

Was Janet secretly married at 18? Did she gain 60 pounds for a movie role that went to Mariah Carey? See what you know about Ms. Jackson.

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)Songwriter Interviews

Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.