The Soft People: The Vapors

The Vapors, the title track from The Soft People’s 2007 album finds Zach Sulat in a deep blue mood. There are many ostensible reasons for Sulat’s blue mood here— one of the consistent blue moods we all went through in Aughts Philadelphia had to do with not being able to join in the festivities sometimes. For the decade the party lasted, all of us had to deal with times that, for whatever reason, the party was passing us by. Individuals tossed and turned on their own waves, and had different Damocles swords hanging over their heads. The important thing about this track, other than the sturdy, solid melody and general 60s FM radio ambiance, is the revelation that revolution is a personal thing, and that being in a crowd that’s going somewhere has to be balanced with solitude for an individual, and an individual’s creativity, to ripen; even as the Aughts Philadelphia party stopped for no one.

P.S. In 2021, Funtime Records re-released The Vapors.