Call it Nick Diamonds Gets His Groove Back. Former Unicorn Nick Thorburn went a bit dark and dreary on 2008’s Arm’s Way, but with Vapours, the transplanted New Yorker relearns his playfulness: “Heartbeat” gleefully busts out Auto-Tune, so if you’ve ever wondered what Kanye imagines when he listens to Vampire Weekend, here you go. The title track tickles a cruise-ship vibe, then flat out asks you to love it: “Hope I entertain, hopin’ you get dancin’ feet.” It’s not all sunshine — “Disarming the Car Bomb” needs more grit, and “Shining” sounds pulled from bleaker times — but Vapours is a welcome righting of the ship.
