In the stream of excellent hard-hitting power-pop albums that were released in the aftermath of the punk explosion, there were bound to be a couple ones forgotten, or associated bands being relegated to one-hit wonder status. The Vapors, famous to anime fans and frequent listeners of the Dr. Demento show for their deliciously warped hit single “Turning Japanese” (an oriental ode to the joys of the five-finger shuffle) were in fact one of the most intelligent and propulsive bands to come out of new wave, and their debut album New Clear Days is their defining statement.

The album kicks off with “Spring Collection”, featuring tinny drums, lots of symbols, and very recognizable buzzsaw guitar tones. It’s a biting attack on the transformation of punk music into a fashion statement, tempered with frustrated admissions of lust denied… very Elvis Costello. This is probably the best song attacking punk fashion released until Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “There There My Dear” on Searching for the Young Soul Rebels.

This is an album full of anthems that, in its most recent more turbulent developments, would fit the Occupy movement snugly. After a minute-long tense build-up, lyrics seemingly imagined for the last two months box the ears like Joe Frasier. To the question of demands:

“You play left handed for the revolution

You over-estimate the quick solution

But you’ll get there soon”

What could be more apropos than the paranoid (or maybe not so paranoid now) cry of “Is this a military state I’m in?” that closes the track wraps everything up.

The nervous jittery energy of “Trains” meanwhile recalls early post-synthesizers XTC, the strangely addictive quality of anxiety that crawls over the feelings of nausea. The persistent clock-hand downbeat so prevalent to New Wave fits singer David Fenton’s pinched yelps like the gears in an old world watch.

Perhaps the closest record to this one would be “This Year’s Model”, though there’s something in Fenton’s lack of lyrical cleverness that makes his music more urgent and alarming than the early Costello; there’s no consoling dark punch line around the corner. There’s no ambiguity to hide in when Fenton screams “maybe that’s why we’re living in bunkers!”

Album closer “Letter from Hiro” lets up the energy a bit, and the unwieldy runtime of 06:23 makes it the album’s only real misstep. But for every Yankee Hotel Foxtrot there’s a Reservations, right?

RIYL: Elvis Costello, XTC, The Adverts, The Damned, Blondie

The Vapors – Spring Collection

The Vapers – Trains

The Vipers – Bunkers

The Vapors @ AllMusic

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Soft Landing remain somewhat elusive, but the members’ experiences are never in question. Frontman Paul Collins is part of the traveling circus that is Beirut. And so is Perrin Cloutier, who Collins recruited just as Soft Landing passed its preliminary stage. Mike Lawless, Collins’ friend from college, later rounded out the trio as they began recording their debut full-length in Chicago with Icy Demons’ frontman Griffin Rodriguez. The self-titled release predictably found a home with Ba Da Bing Records, the label to bands like Beirut and Shearwater. Soft Landing was released last fall but just recently found its share of press. The trio possesses the same angular approach to rock, folk, and pop that frequent collaborator Zach Condon does, but Soft Landing implement their diverse showing of styles – from tropicalia and mariachi-driven chillwave to twangy folk and rhythmically combustible pop anthems – more succinctly than Condon. The result is not as grandiose or individualized as Beirut, but with greater stylistic prowess and arguably more percussive involvement.

While Condon plays with enjoyably rigid sentiments of Balkan folk and unconventional fusions of electronica, Soft Landing is a breezier and more accessible interpretation of freak-folk, electronica, and art-rock. The world influences are not as striking – like Condon’s Balkan folk – but Soft Landing provide plenty of international flair mainly pertaining to South American and African folk/pop. “Papaya” shows this off well with the exotic woodwind-like synths and fast acoustic arpeggios. One can envision a blue-sky atmosphere, mainly on account of the handclap-percussion and vibrant guitars resembling both an Irish jig and tribal dance. Collins has a voice most comparable to The Veils’ Finn Andrews in a half-nasally half-anthemic croon that fits well, particularly for this fun track.

“Mic Check” boasts a little electro bass gargle and quick strums of a ukulele. During its build-up, Collins’ gradually raises the pitch of his voice until the falsetto signals a fury of percussion, which is mastered subtly in its panning but still unavoidable considering its incredible workmanship within the track. “Mic Check” is constant and somewhat repetitive, but the subtleties inherent in Collins’ vocal usage and percussive involvement prevent even the slightest moment of predictability. The stampede of percussion and revolving synth licks create an infectious quality rarely found in driven works like these and Soft Landing should be commended for it. They are able to manipulate a flimsy synth sound into the capabilities of a retro-friendly organ, and these bursts bring along sentiments of psychedelia and classic-rock that fit seamlessly into Soft Landing’s creative presentations of freak-folk and Balearic-influenced electronica.

A guitar arpeggio and more intensified synth-organs than before propel “Live with Birds” into yet another memorable effort. Big bass drums dominate shortly thereafter, with a poppy synth line only to designed to tease. The initial vocal introduction is complemented by only an acoustic guitar, and this bass drum/synth collaboration reveals itself as a killer hook once it appears again, now laced beautifully under Collins’ soaring vocals. XTC, David Bowie, and Deer Tick are just a few comparisons that come to mind. “Pendleton Woolen” has a type of lush delicacy that the band should pursue more. An acoustic track for the most part, a little bass shuffle enters concurrently with Collins’ voice. “All my kisses turned to ash,” he sings at one point. “I wish I could control the beats of my heart.” This is one of the more aptly emotional tracks on the album, and more developments like these should result in heavy exposure for this promising trio.

RIYL: Beirut, Au, XTC, David Bowie, Deer Tick, Rita Lee, Os Mutantes, Devendra Banhart, Fanfarlo, Andrew Bird

Soft Landing – Mic Check

Soft Landing – Pendleton Woolen

Soft Landing – Baptism

Ba Da Bing Records / BUY

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