I owe The Vapors an apology. I’ve been singing along with “Turning Japanese” and have fond memories of their taut New Wave take on classic power-pop but I never realized they were English. At some point, I must have crossed my wires because I thought they were from Ohio, the land of DEVO and Chrissie Hynde. To be fair, I was still in single-digits when they last released an album. With Together, The Vapors pick up their musical thread almost forty years later with an album that will be one of this year’s most pleasant surprises.
Album opener “Together” is a call-to-arms for fans and musicians to dust off the guitars and dance together again. For those of us who still watch old Tops of the Pops and MTV tapes, the song sends a tingle down the spine. We might be older but we still know how to have fun. The start-stop energy of “Crazy” reveals a band that hasn’t lost a step in the missing years since they cracked America through the power of an unforgettable video on MTV.
The most rewarding parts of the album are in the songwriting. “Sundown River” reminds me of a forgotten gem from The Kinks. The lyrics hold you close. “Letter to Hiro – No11” hints at the band’s past albums (“Letter From Hiro”) while reminding us that the scars of unchecked nationalism never heal. There is a welcome maturity to the album without dampening the fun of hearing The Vapors in 2020. Here’s hoping they tour this album when the new clear days arrive and the concerts resume.