tracks on LP: Spring Collection / Turning Japanese / Cold War / America / Trains / Bunkers / News At Ten / Somehow / Sixty Second Interval / Waiting For The Weekend / Letter From Hiro
Record label: United Artists UAG 30300
Producer: Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
Recorded at Basing Street and The Town House
Released: 06/80
Purchased: 04/09/81
The Vapors | New Clear Days | United Artists | 1981 | FIRST OF all let me say this is an album to be played LOUD As high as your ears can handle That way the Vapors will seep into your system and gain complete control. Otherwise it s going to sound like any old album so be warned.
See I’ve liked the Vapors ever since I saw them in February. Infectious catchy songs with clever lyrics you want to see them again and again. The tunes just play in your head as you’re going to work on the bus, when you’re standing in the queue at the supermarket, whenever your mind starts to wander. And you look forward to the album so you can hear it for real.
First the bad news. It s not quite what I expected. Onstage the Vapors are full of fire. On this platter they are not. Dave Fenton‘s vocals seem lost at the back under a hiss and at times Edward Bazalgette‘s guitar is drowned beneath Steve Smith‘s bass, although the latter does throw in some pretty crafty playing (but then again so do the other three so why not let them be heard as well?).
And another quibble — there’s so many fancy frills that the heart of the music is lost here and there, there’s such a thing as being too clever.
Whew. Now for the good news. This album is still worth buying. Once you’ve got over the shock of how different the Vapors sound on disc the album starts to find itself on top of your turntable more and more. If you thought ‘Turning Japanese’ was good there are enough good songs on here to knock spots off that. ‘Letter From Hiro’ particularly is a well crafted piece of emotion . . . sheer bliss.
And ‘Spring Collection’ boasts some fine descriptive lyrics as well as a pandemonic tune “black jeans with tortured seams” , now if that doesn’t describe someone bursting out of their trews in the farce of fashion I don’t know what does.
And so it goes on and on. From subjects as diverse as nuclear war to fashion, the melodies are equally dissimilar. Some, such as ‘Sixty Second Interval’ and the aforementioned ‘Letter From Hire’ are sweet, touching retrains, while ‘Trains’ and ‘Bunkers’ have a tortured sense of urgency.
You mark my words. The Vapors are going to be a force to be reckoned with. While this album fails to bring over their true personality it showcases their ability to play essential pop songs with finesse. Be in there right from the beginning. (Record Mirror, 07/06/80)
The Vapors | New Clear Days | United Artists | 1980
The Vapors may not be one of the more original new bands in the country but they’re certainly among the best equipped. David Fenton knows how to fashion a song, the rhythm section are capable of clipping things along without labouring the point and, best of all, they can really sing.
This debut is an altogether even tempered and artful set of tight and varied contemporary pop. No complaints, except for the title. (8 out of 10) (Smash Hits, June 1980)
Here we see the sellable face of junior new wave: Britpop, brittle and fast, all hooks and catches and bristling with nervous ambition. With short, light and streamlined songs, The Vapors lead this field with ease right now.
Traditionalists to a man, both groups work with strictly ’60s definitions, wired up with late ’70s vitality and fashionable modern, hard-edged lyrics for extra relevance. The routine description is ‘classic-pop’ – a sacrosanct format unchanged in twenty years except for its periodic facelifts. The Vapors demonstrate how much you can still do inside ancient guidelines.
‘New Clear Days’ (a grim pun in two senses) is The Vapors’ debut and no disappointment; the album is instantly likeable and keeps on getting interesting after that. Just as in “Turning Japanese” (included here) singer David Fenton has a way of twisting the simplest ideas into striking images, which are melodic and addictive. Brisk and bright as the music might be, pressure is everywhere and menace lurks at every lyrical turn. (NME, 14/06/80)
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