The VANNS Reveal 12 Tracks That Inspired Their New Album 'Last Of Your Kind'

Jimmy Vann (Lead Vocals, Guitar)

Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - Nightrider

This was my day-to-day go-to track to wind down and ground myself when I wasn't working on the record, and even just general life, around the time of writing and recording the album. We'd finish a long day in the studio, and once we all parted ways for the evening, I'd chuck on my headphones and sink into this song.

Fontaines D.C. - Jackie Down The Line 

I was listening to heaps of Fontaines during the latter half of making our record, and this song would constantly get stuck in my head. The repetitive, punchy & syncopated chorus inspired the idea of having the outro vocals in Last Of Your Kind be in that similar style.

Kings Of Leon - Fans

Once we had finished Haunted before going into the studio to record it, we were listening to the Kings Of Leon album Because Of The Times. The "shaa" you hear at the end of Haunted is very much inspired by the "shaa" you hear in the chorus of Fans. You could say it's somewhat of a homage to one of my favourite bands of all time.

Cameron Little (Guitar, Vocals)

War On Drugs - The Strangest Thing

It’s just one of the greatest songs ever. It sounds so huge, and I love the structure of it. I’m always a fan of an outro going for longer than expected, and the layering of the riff as the outro moves along makes me feel a kind of way.

The Shouting Matches - Seven Sisters

This song and the whole album Grownass Man is so good. I love the live-ness of all the recordings. It really just sounds like people in a room hashing it out, which is more like the approach we took to recording this record too.

Tom Waits - Take It With Me

I wouldn’t say this song inspired any of the songs on the record (at least not directly), although Tom Waits music definitely inspires me as a writer in general. It’s such a beautiful song, and I love it so much.

Tom Switlek (Bass)

Vulfpeck - 1612

Vulfpeck, for me, is like getting a monthly massage. Smooth, classy and leaves you feeling stress-free - which is good for me because I hate getting massages.

Jamiroquai - Don’t Give Hate A Chance

Found myself listening to a lot of Jamiroquai throughout the months of recording the album. They are such a groovy band, it’s hard not to delve back into the depths of their discography.

Grateful Dead - Sugar Magnolia 

Throughout most of the recording process for Last Of Your Kind, the Grateful Dead would almost certainly be played at some point throughout the nights. No particular song, but any Grateful Dead song seems to go really well with a few beers, a fire, and a good yarn about nothing!

Andrew Banovich - drums

Bon Iver - Perth 

Bon Iver is something of an all-rounder for me, from inspiration to pure entertainment. When I  can’t think of anything to listen to, Bon Iver. When I’m looking for guidance and inspiration, Bon Iver. This track and essentially the whole self-titled album really spoke to me on a percussive level of how much weight and voice percussion can have in a song. It’s an ingredient I try to bring to every song on this album.

Gang Of Youths - The Man Himself 

This song came out midway through the creation of Last Of Your Kind and was instantly added to my high rotation. Gang Of Youths has always been a big influence on me, and I feel the rest of the band too. Similar to Bon Iver, this song has a lot of percussion samples and extra percussion parts that really stuck with me.

The 1975 - She’s American

George Daniel (drummer and producer) is one of my favourite musicians of all time and a bit of an underdog, in my opinion. He has this thing where he plays the bare minimum, and it’s just perfect, it draws your attention whether you are listening or watching. Also, when it comes to writing his drum parts, he seems to stick with motifs or the same idea throughout a song, and I absolutely love it; to re-enforce the point of percussion also being a voice in a song. I try to consider this often. ‘Am I doing too much? Not enough? Am I playing a part that’s needed for this song?’ - which George does perfectly every time. There is a specific drum fill in She’s American that every time I hear it, I audibly “woo”. I give my own attempt at this and pay some homage to George and his writing in our song Checking Out.

The VANNS’ new album, Last Of Your Kind, is out Today. You can stream or download it here.