Music Review // Vectralux "Each Morning and the Morning Thereafter"

 

https://vectralux.bandcamp.com/album/each-morning-and-the-morning-thereafter

With the opening song "Hey!", Vectralux feels as if they are about to go into a television theme song from the 1990's or perhaps a Neil Diamond influenced number.   This does set the tone for the rest of the album, though, as the songs tend to range from the 1990's to previous years and really I don't hear a lot of sounds from the 21st Century within this album and that's fine.

Horns on some of the songs and keys all around make me feel like this one could be from that era where singers felt like their future was so bright they had to wear shades.   It's just that whole rock n roll thing where they also happened to have a sweet horn section but weren't ska.  They're out there, if you look, along the same lines as Huey Lewis and the News.   There are also those elements of Steely Dan and John Mellencamp.

But by the time we hit "Patagonia Kids" I'm taken to a place of rock that is heavily influenced by Soul Asylum but also has those slight tones of The Wallflowers.   It's either before or after grunge, but is basically some of that fine rock music which isn't grunge but was around that time.   With melodies ranging from the Beach Boys to The Beatles this album is sure to stand out for you, even if it feels a little bit familiar.

Listening to this album makes me miss movies from John Hughes and Rodney Dangerfield.  It was a time when problems would be solved- in film- by shoving someone in a pool. It was a time when- in film- a group of unemployed kids would drive cross country and no one would wonder how they paid for gas or food.  It's the soundtrack of a different time, but it feels like so much fun I like being back there.