Sundays Hit Different: ‘Sunday Bummer’ by Creative Vibrations Feels All Too Real

Creative Vibrations has just released an album, a full-length work, called ‘Sunday Bummer’ that has to be heard to be believed. In a great weekend, one of us heard it, reviewed it, and loved it. That’s the thing about Creative Vibrations and its creator Pete Sahaidachny, the music is the real deal. And by real, we mean honest. In these 10 songs, there is a heft to the chords and a reason to the words. The album is indeed a bitter note on impending Monday, an emotional hangover we all work so hard to avoid. It’s rare these days to find an album that is a collection of cohesive songs, but this album is all that and more. The songs dissect the Sunday blues in a variety of ways and draw the listener in. “The Way” kicks it off with a laid-back ease. Cool guitar licks and a straightforward vocal provide a homey warmth to the tune. It’s easy to sink into the groove, as nothing about the intro or the song’s development is overly contrived, even in its bluesy demeanor. “Problems” ups the tempo with a bit more tension in the mix. It’s not in your face, but the drums are a bit staccato and the bass is more frantic than the other cuts. It rolls like a low-end end bumpy ride. In “Unleash the Beast”, things get a bit more raw, more in your face. As the name suggests, the beastly music rides a bit harder with a few more bottom-end growls that seem more carnal than the other tunes. Yet there is a seesaw between the opening song and this one; it’s as if they are battling themselves to keep it together and explode.

In “Skeletons”, things again settle back into a nice groove, but much more moodier, softer on the edges with a drawn-out lyric that is almost poetry late at night ruminating on past ghosts. “Hero” is again thoughtful, more uplifting perhaps, but without the grandiosity other tunes carry. It is, perhaps, more about trying to be your own hero than anyone else’s. Therein lies its strength. The next track, “Information Overloaded”, is a little wilder, and for good reason. It’s the feeling one gets when browsing too much online without feeling part of it, without feeling connected, and without being able to stop. “Reel Me Back In” seems to come on next, but almost like a subconscious cry for help. The interplay of the lyrics and the musical melody almost physically wraps around your neck, not choking, but wanting you not to be so alone. The chorus of “Loop Sequence” is well chosen. The melody is like our daily rituals that often move in seemingly repeated patterns and yet there is this emotional tinge in the melodic phrase breaks that might give hope. “Palace in the Sky” is a much distant tune. It has the ethereal feel of one who is reaching for something else, or perhaps long lost, and unable to quite grasp it. “Messages” leans much more into a somewhat more electronic vibe but is still layered with a more desperate edge. It’s that sound of waiting, waiting for an answer, or a message, or something to let you know what to do. Waiting for something that may not ever come.

“Help You Through” eases back into a softer musical space with acoustic guitar and harmony. The word support in the chorus seems to be about care and support. It’s less flighty. “Voice in Your Heart” is the likely centerpiece. It’s not the prettiest, but more blunt. It asks the questions we dare not say, at least out loud. The closer, “Groove Process” takes an about-face in tone from the rest of the album. It’s a more playful groove. It’s the sound of perhaps the other side of a grueling week. It’s not that it answers anything. But perhaps it lets you breathe. What’s most intriguing about ‘Sunday Bummer’ is not the aural landscape, although it is impressive, but the emotion. None of these songs is overly produced in terms of a sonic search for bigger and better. The genius of this music and these songs is that they let you breathe in the space between, and the overall tone speaks volumes. The care and time taken to put these tunes together are also apparent. The players who come to the table, Richard Turgeon’s tight drumming, Jeffrey Mallow’s cleaner production mix, or Pete’s overall sound choices from the guitar and piano work, really hammer home the thought, heart, and soul that went into every part of this music. Does this album change anything? Not really. But it’s real and that makes all the difference. That may be just the therapy one needs on Sunday.

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