THE VAPORS

Magnets

[Liberty L T-1 090]

Question: What do Jim Jones, Adolf Hitler, Karl Marx, the Kennedys, and black holes have in common? Well, look at the title of the new Vapors album - they are all magnets of some sort or another, and this power of attraction is central to the theme of the record. Aside from the catchy single “Turning Japanese”, the rest of the group's first album (Clear Day) was marginal, and I approached the current disk with a certain skepticism. Magnets, however, is a different story.

The unifying theme is the violence that permeates modern civilization and the effects it has on people today. As such, the overall mood of the album is unsettling, with even the obligatory love song talking about “just another dismal rendezvous.” From their slightly paranoid point of view The Vapors examine snipers, spiders and secret agents, as well as police harassment and life in front of the Asteroids machine. This sounds pretty dreary, except that these ideas are set to music in some of the better pop tunes to come along in a while.

There are several songs which are easily as good as “Japanese.” and the album proves to be consistently better than Clear Day. “Spiders” has been getting some airplay and has definite hit potential. Other outstanding cuts are “Civic Hall,” “Jimmie Jones,” and “Live at the Marquee.” Given the exposure the Vapors got with their first single they should do pretty well with Magnets. I mean, how can you go wrong with lines like “Jimmie Jones and his soul clones will get you?”

 -John Long