Album Review: Night Vapor – 1,000 Miles of Mud (Corpse Flower Records)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Night Vapor ponder music’s least-pondered questions: can noise-rock crudity and high-minded modern composition coexist in the same song? Can the results be made to “rock” – even “swing”? Can a multi-record career be eked out from that formula?

Lashed together according to those propositions, as deranged as they are focused, their upcoming release 1,000 Miles of Mud (via Corpse Flower Records) lays out a potent statement of vision. The band’s four members have done enough time in prog/noise-rock acts to know how to deliver the oft-damaged goods.

1,000 Miles of Mud will be released on December 14th 2018.

Ambitious, no doubt but does 1,000 Miles of Mud live up to Night Vapour’s goal here? Well, yes and no. Is it unique, complex and modern? Yes, a thousand times yes. However, it’s also pretty jarring at times and very difficult to really enjoy. Take the opening track, Dirtminer. It’s just all over the place with the rhythm going off in so many different directions. It’s like trying to chase a chicken round a farmyard. Just when you think you’ve gotten hold of it, it slips from your grasp and bolts off in a completely different direction.

Soft Ceiling follows a similar formula but is just a little more settled with angular sounding guitars before Blue Mary punches hard with fuzziness and a jarring drum beat. If you’ve stuck with it this far then we find Rated Eye, Hemmed Up and DNR bringing even more unique madness to the table. The former is probably the most listenable track on the album while the latter is groggy noise-rock at its most complex.

For all its wacky complexities, chances are the moment the enjoyably rhythmic rock finale of Hothead ends things you’re likely to be hitting play again just to try and understand what you’ve just listened too!

Night Vapour – 1,000 Miles of Mud Full Track Listing:

1. Dirtminer
2. Soft Ceiling
3. Blue Mary
4. Rated Eye
5. Hemmed Up
6. DNR
7. Castle Freak
8. Hothead

You can order the album via Bandcamp here and find out more about Night Vapor on Facebook.