Playing To Vapors
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Playing To Vapors

Columbus, Ohio, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF

Columbus, Ohio, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2012
Band Alternative Rock

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"2016 Bands to Watch: Playing to Vapors"

There can be, at times, an ethereal quality to Playing to Vapors’ music.

On A Glitch in a Void, a six-song EP the art-rocking five-piece released in 2015, singer and songwriter Lucas Harris’ vocals tend to dip and dive, gliding over songs like “You Never Seem Sorry When You’re Gone” with all the grace of a hawk held aloft in a jet stream. The frontman’s oft-coded words can be similarly difficult to grasp hold of — “The dead’ll rise from the blood in the sink,” he offers cryptically on “Just Fine With Me,” a tune that shares at least some musical DNA with Radiohead’s “Dollars and Cents” — and song titles frequently reference concepts that exist in the abstract rather than the concrete: “Giant Conspiracy,” “Ghost Hunter,” “Whisper.”

Regardless, the band members selected their name not in reference to these vaguer, more mysterious qualities, but as a reminder to remain hungry and humble, regardless of any experienced success.

“Our guitarist’s dad played in a band, and [Playing to Vapors] was something he would say about a show if they played and there was nobody there, like, ‘We were playing to vapors that night,’” said Harris (keyboard, guitar), who’s joined in the group by Zack Cramp (bass), Josiah DePaso (drums), Daron DiSabato (guitar) and Mike Stokes (guitar). “We thought it would keep us humble, and remind us not to get arrogant or pompous about who we are.”

Though the quintet has just a pair of EPs to its name, the members have a musical history that stretches back a decade, when Harris, DePaso, DiSabato and Stokes first started jamming together after meeting as students at Worthington Kilbourne High School. The years since have been filled with odd musical turns and failed experimentations — “We’d have a jam band song or some random ballad, and we all loved Tool and Porcupine Tree, so we’d get into progressive stuff now and again,” Harris said — a search for a musical identity that finally culminated in the release of the band’s 2012 debut EP, titled, aptly, Identity.

“I feel like we all have a purpose and we all know what direction we’re going in now,” Harris said. “Over the years we’ve become better at listening to one another. It’s become more of a team effort. Rather than everyone writing the best part they think they can play, it’s become more about writing the best part for the song.”

This communal spirit should be further evidenced on Playing to Vapors' full-length debut, for which the band has now recorded a dozen songs with an eye on a 2016 release. After that, maybe the musicians can invest time weighing potential sponsorship details.

“We have a band Gmail account, and I don’t know how vaping places get our email address, but we get so much spam from vape companies,” Harris said, laughing. “We joke about having sponsorship from some vaping company down the line, but maybe they’re really just trying to get us to vape with them or something.” - Columbus Alive


"2016 Music Video Countdown-#1 Playing To Vapors: "Whisper""

5. mr. Gnome "Melted Rainbow" (Cleveland, Ohio) 23.5 / 30
4. Twenty One Pilots "Stressed Out" (Columbus, Ohio) 23.75 / 30
3. The Receiver "Transit" (Columbus, Ohio) 25 / 30
2. Starset "Halo" (Columbus, Ohio) 25.25 / 30
1. Playing To Vapors "Whisper" (Columbus, Ohio) 27 / 30 - Out Of The Blue Magazine


"10 Bands To Catch at Brite Winter Festival 2016"

Playing to Vapors
5:15 p.m. The Stage Under the Bridge

Two strangely similar and equally poignant falsettos belong coincidentally to two ginger-haired singers: hard rock god Josh Homme and Lucas Harris of Columbus’s Playing to Vapors. Playing to Vapors claims to offer audiences “a unique style of groove-based alternative rock.” Unique is a bold assertion in this oversaturated business, but it’s hard to disagree. The bands’ music combines “First It Giveth”-style Queens of the Stone Age with the sounds of experimental act Battles, producing electronic-infused rock that is heavily dependent on a driving percussive rhythm. Harris is the real deal: his live performances are spot-on, proving that his organic talent isn’t just a studio-engineered hoax. Listen to “You Never Seem Sorry When You’re Gone” or “Whisper” to be carried away by his levitating vocalizations. The band has released two EPs, 2012’s Identities and 2015’s A Glitch in a Void, and premiered at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon last year. If they keep the momentum going by releasing a full-length formal debut in 2016, there’s no telling where these fellas are headed. (Kaufman) - Cleveland Scene


"Bunbury Music Festival Must Sees"

Columbus, Ohio five-piece Playing to Vapors’ brand of AltRock is a particularly enigmatic one, soaring on an airy ambiance full of crafty rhythms, hypnotic, progressive guitar lines and vocals that recall the elastic brilliance of the late, great Jeff Buckley (fans of U.K. arena rockers Muse will also find the band’s soulful, high-ceilinged sound thoroughly engaging). The group put out its first EP, Identities, in 2012 and, after a series of single releases, recently followed it up with the excellent A Glitch in a Void EP. Named for a phrase one of the band member’s musician father used to describe a lightly attended gig, Playing to Vapors shouldn’t face many similar situations as word continues to spread about its magnetic music. The sky’s the limit for this talented quintet. (Mike Breen) - City Beat


"Playing to Vapors delivers on the seamless A Glitch In A Void"

By Andy Downing

For Playing to Vapors singer Luke Harris, the way he delivers a lyric can carry even more weight than the actual meaning of the words.

“It’s the phonetics of the chosen words, and the stressing of the syllables. Everything plays into it,” said Harris, 25, in an early April interview at a downtown coffee shop. “When I'm writing a song maybe I have a specific meaning in mind, but I don't care whether or not the person listening to the song picks up on it as long as the words mean something to them. Whenever someone asks me what a song means I usually ask them back, ‘Well, what do you think it means?’ Sometimes it's more interesting than what I initially had in mind.”

On the band’s moody, atmospheric new EP, A Glitch In A Void, the frontman handles these words like molding clay, bending, stretching and shaping notes in a gorgeous falsetto equally capable of knee-buckling power (dig the way he soars into the chorus of “Giant Conspiracy”) and heartrending fragility (the wordless moan that kicks off the spacious “You Never Seem Sorry When You’re Gone”).

“Growing up, I was always singing along to bands like Muse, Radiohead and Rufus Wainwright, and those are the artists that taught me,” said Harris, who joins bandmates Zack Cramp (bass), Josiah DePaso (drums), Mike Stokes (guitar) and Daron DiSabato (guitar) for an EP release show at Brothers Drake on Friday, April 10. “I think early on I was trying too hard to be [Radiohead’s] Thom Yorke and [Muse’s] Matt Bellamy. Now hopefully I'm doing more of my own thing.”

Of course, a large part of Harris discovering his own voice was learning to work within the confines of a band. Though the core of Playing to Vapors formed nearly a decade ago, Harris has also released a handful of solo recordings, including the Foolish Children EP, from 2014, and he said ceding some degree of control can still occasionally be a struggle.

“It's a challenge because in a band you're constantly making compromises,” said Harris, who was born in North Carolina but has called Columbus home since he was a toddler. “I think it helps to know you're all in it for the same reasons, and you're all trying to shoot for the best song possible.”

The steady-push-and-pull between the longtime bandmates is reflected in Playing to Vapors’ ever-evolving sound, which flirted with everything from prog-rock to jam before settling into its current form a little more than two years ago.

“It's a big reason we named that [2012] EP Identities, because that first seven or eight years was us struggling to find a voice as a band,” Harris said. “That was the first time we were confident in who we were as a band, and knew what direction we wanted to pull in.” - Columbus Alive


"ATMOSPHERIC ROCKERS PLAYING TO VAPORS ARE BUILDING A FOLLOWING"

Columbus-based alternative act Playing To Vapors are building an empire with their unique blend of groove-based atmospheric rock.

Their latest EP A Glitch In A Void is out this April and acts as a departure for the band, who are drawing a growing fanbase and steady amount of critical acclaim.

Comprising of members Zack Cramp (bass), Josiah DePaso (drums), Daron DiSabato (guitar), Lucas Harris (vocals/keys/guitar), and Mike Stokes (guitar), the independent group’s new EP A Glitch In The Void is a collection of haunting sonic landscapes, with lush melodies and roaring guitars, showcasing a slightly more ambitious effort than 2012’s Identities. Lead single, Giant Conspiracy, features interchanging guitar melodies over a tenacious drum and bass groove, while Harris’s haunting vocals spit lyrics about solitary confusion.

Although the core of the band formed almost ten years ago, the current sound of Playing To Vapors has really only taken on its moody, atmospheric form in the last two or three years. Having flirted with progressive rock and jam-band stylings in the past, vocalist/guitarist Lucas Harris has claimed the changing sound is a natural result from the compromises one makes when part of a band.

“It's a big reason we named that [2012] EP Identities, because that first seven or eight years was us struggling to find a voice as a band,” Harris said in an interview with Andy Downing of ColumbusAlive last week. “That was the first time we were confident in who we were as a band, and knew what direction we wanted to pull in.”

With an eclectic array of influences like Muse, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Rufus Wainwright, it is no surprise that Playing To Vapors are drawing the attention of fans new and old. Their most recent release, A Glitch In The Void, is out now and can be downloaded on iTunes or through the artist’s Bandcamp. - In Your Speakers


"Independents’ Day 2015 music picks: 13 must-see acts"

Playing To Vapors (6:45 p.m. Saturday, Main Stage)

“Columbus’ next breakout band!” declared Brad Keefe of Columbus Alive in June of this year. Oh, wait. That’s me! Well, everything I said when I implored you to see Playing To Vapors at ComFest holds doubly true at Independents’ Day, and they’re in a prime slot. Layered and lovely guitar rock and soothing vocals with a heavy dose of UK influence (fans of Radiohead and alt-J, take note), this set will make beautiful noises float through Franklinton. — BK - Columbus Alive


"PLAYING TO VAPORS, MAGIC THROUGH MUSIC"

There’s an innocence to Playing To Vapors. And innocence that’s also evoked from your favorite band’s first records. This is the stuff of what musical juggernauts were made of before the music industry, egos and fame had tarnished their musicality. When it was still about having fun and expressing whatever needed to be strung and sung and carried by a bass and drum.

At it’s purest form, it’s a curiosity, an amalgamation of your influences and ordeals brewed down to a sound that implores you to send its vibrations through your body and to your aural cavern again and again. If it’s done right, there’s an absolute magic there. And if it’s done with heart, it can awe and inspire.

“I’ve always said that, ‘I want people to feel something when they listen to the music we make.’ And, I want them to resonate with them, because – my favorite music that I like to listen to always makes me feel something.”

I first saw Playing To Vapors at Mahall’s back in the early spring. The Columbus band played along a slew of local groups on a conventional night out.

The crew took the stage as the closing bill, and opened with the first track off their latest LP, A Glitch In A Void.

“Fragments” is a sonic pulse. It’s an introduction that engrosses with sounds that warble and sputter as if you’re transitioning from a continuum. A sort of, eyes shift from left to right; loosen your head up to peak above and think, “Where are we?”

The strangeness and space-ness of “Fragments” seamlessly descends (or ascends?) into “You Never Seem Sorry When You’re Gone,” with a trickling guitar begun by Mike Stokes. Vocalist, Lucas Harris sweetly croons over the pleading case brought by drummer, Josiah DePaso, and Zack Cramp meets the conviction on his bass. The verse calls your attention, and before you know it, Daron DiSabato’s guitar is soaring and descending, like a murmuration of starlings.

The night of mundane bands and flat plot is revoked. And beyond just the cold in the night, the humidity in the bar, the buzz from the beer, you feel something. As the words, “Damn those boys are good!” exit your mouth, you realize, a connection has been made.

The next morning, I listened to A Glitch In A Void in its entirety. I applauded those clever-Columbus boys in their management of bridging gaps of tight-grooved live performances and an album production that borderlines Godrich.

“A lot of people have related our music to something that’s more calculated and thought out. There’s definitely an element of that in there…something we try to do when we’re writing music is really think out each part and what it’s purpose is in the song. And how it relates, not only to the song, but it’s place in the record as well.”

What is most impressive about Playing To Vapors is the excitement they induce whilst listening to them. They remind me of what it was like to listen to my favorite alt-rock bands for the first time. It’s that innocence. You can hear and see that they’re having fun. Through every riff, every interlude, down to each note, everything was painstakingly placed there under much calculation and after several reworkings. That’s not a process – it’s a passion. And it channels so well in their live performances and on A Glitch In The Void that the listener is at their disposal.

These are exciting times for Playing To Vapors. And exciting times for the audiences that get to catch them now. The band will remind you of why you listen to music. After you’re swooned by their melodies, you can’t help but to get super stoked for them. Playing To Vapors, that little kid with looks of charm and charisma, casting you a smile and saying something as witty as it is heartfelt. You think, “You’re gonna go somewhere, kid.” - Beyond The Benign


"CMJ 2014: Beautiful Day for Some Awesome Sounds!"

Day four of CMJ saw another diverse group of artists luring festival goers into dark bars and odd venues to tease our ears with some really fantastic music.

Day four, Friday, started out a bit later for me than previous days as I regrouped and got my plan together for the day.

Starting out in late afternoon I first headed back to my some tried and true venues on the lower east side: Pianos, Rockwood Music Hall 1, 2 and 3. These are venues that are really good at booking smaller bands with a great sense of diversity. And their vibe is pretty awesome too!

So what did I hear? First up was the Amsterdam band Go Back to the Zoo. With indie rock with a nice underlay of 80s pop influence. They site bands from Cars to The Killers and you can hear it in the music. Solid sound.

From there I headed upstairs to catch the Icelandic artist known as Lay Low (aka Lovisa Elisabet Sigrunardottir). She plays guitar and sings with a beautiful tone to her voice. Really liked what I heard from her!

I'd heard that The Yells were worth checking out so I ducked out of Lay Low and headed around the corner to Rockwood to catch the last half of their set. Rock and roll, maybe I'd categorize it as indie...maybe just straight up, straight out rock and roll. They were great and great fun!

When The Yells ended at Rockwood stage 1 I cut out to Rockwood stage 2 next door where I caught the end of an act known as Skyes. Synth and voice four piece that seemed on the verge of experimental but not really. Not my favorite act of the day, but some folks seemed fairly impressed.

However, next on the stage was Norwegian artist Aurua. She? Was stunning. The small venue was suddenly jam packed for her set and with good reason. A sweet and soft voice that seemed to float with the music was perfect. At just 18 this girl has a whole life of accomplishment ahead of her.

After her set I decided to break away from the lower east side and head up to Brooklyn to see what was what. Starting at Spike Hill I caught first where I caught the last couple songs of Iowa artist Max Jury. I wish I'd seen more of his set because what I heard was really great!

After Jury the Danish band The Foreign Resort played. I didn't really know anything about them going in but walked away quite impressed with their sound. Rock layered over very intricate synth that had an unmistakeably 80s influence (early Cure anyone?) for a unique take on 'evil dance' as the lead singer dubbed some of their tracks. It was quite good but I was a little curious (and didn't have a chance to ask about) why they had backing tracks which weren't played live. Not a deal breaker, but curious.

From there I headed down to The Knitting Factory to catch Australian singer Banoffee. I have to admit to being a little puzzled by the buzz around this artist. Her voice seemed ok but there was very little variation in her full synthesized music or her delivery. Overall? Certainly not a highlight for me.

Honestly? Aside from the aforementioned Spike Hill shows none of the Brooklyn acts I hit on Friday night really held much to set them aside or apart from any of the other acts I'd already seen. And some were just plain bad.

Therefore, from here I took a departure. I had been invited to see a band we at IYS know called Playing to Vapors, an indie band out of Columbus, Ohio. They weren't playing on official CMJ show but happened to be playing a warehouse show in Brooklyn Friday night. Since I'd never seen them live it was too tempting to pass up. At their show they were second up and I arrived in time to catch bits of Good Morning Atlantic. Transcendental, ambient music that honestly was probably better than a large chunk of what I saw at CMJ this week! Absolutely stunning.

Playing to Vapors played next and wow...just WOW. As good as these guys recordings are, their live act absolutely cements them as officially one of my one to watch from CMJ that are not at CMJ. Talent in drums, keys, guitar and bass come together to form really solid, really brilliant indie that has something unique. You can catch them in Philly tonight and Pittsburgh on Sunday as they make their way back to Columbus. Highly recommended.

So my end to Day Four of CMJ was a non-CMJ set up that was probably at least as good if not better than so much of what I'd seen!

Today...Day Five will be spent in the Lower East Side again before scooting to Brooklyn to end the day with IYS favorite punk band, Happy Fangs. Stay tuned for more words and soon pictures of all!

- See more at: http://inyourspeakers.com/content/features/112-cmj-2014-beautiful-day-some-awesome-sounds-10252014-0#sthash.yR2gkIdo.dpuf - In Your Speakers


"OSU Alumni band Playing to Vapors sizzle in sold-out show"

Despite the frigid weather, Spacebar was nice and toasty Feb. 20 thanks to the warm bodies packed together to see Columbus’ own and OSU alumni Playing To Vapors.

The venue even had to turn away fans when it filled to capacity.

On stage, bassist Zach Cramp is locked in with drummer Josiah DePaso, while guitarists Mike Stokes and Daron DiSabato fill in the song with smart riffs and flowing textures.

Tying it all together is lead singer and keyboardist Lucas Harris, whose angelic voice perpetually soars overhead, telling stories through his lyrics, some of which are inspired by real experiences.

Playing To Vapors has been playing together with the current lineup since December 2012, and the hours spent carefully crafting and rehearsing songs pay off in a live setting.

“We practice three times a week, so that gives us the time to make sure no little mistakes get swept under the rug,” Cramp said. “We try to have the discipline to make sure everything is exactly the way we want it to be before we take it to the stage.”

The band’s most recent release is the single “Ghost Hunter,” which features a groovy, moody beat and a stylish music video.

“‘Ghost Hunter” is like a storybook song, where it’s about a guy trying to make it as a musician, and in the song he goes into bars that are described as filthy, and he ends up losing his wife over it, but he still wants to do it,” Harris said.

But for all of the thought that goes into the band’s songs, a clear goal remains.

“At the end of the day, we just want to make people feel something, and be moved by the music we make,” said DiSabato.

Playing To Vapors is set to release its next EP “Glitch In A Void” mid-April. - U Weekly @ OSU


"REVIEW: PLAYING TO VAPORS – IDENTITIES (2012)"

REVIEW: PLAYING TO VAPORS – IDENTITIES (2012)


Some bands write for radio. Some bands write to be different. Some write in honor of specific musical idols. And, some write for the sole purpose of creating a sonic journey. Identities is the embodiment of sonic journeys. For those following the Columbus rock scene for any length of time, they have likely come across one of the eras of a group of five friends that have been playing together since early high school. Playing to Vapors is the latest step in the journey of these guys, and hopefully they will play out the Playing to Vapors moniker as long as possible – with a release like this, they ought to be sure there is no fade out to oblivion of this entity.

So how can Playing to Vapors be described? Well for one, it’s certainly worthy of play alongside their more influential counterparts – the Mars Volta for example. The band takes cues from several progressive rock groups, old and new. Hints of other genres emerge every now and then, too. Take the closer “Fire Up Ahead” for example; a subtly funk-live bass groove is there. Dual guitars play off each other in a trance-inducing way, creating melodies that truly transport the listener to alternate dimensions. No substances needed here, folks. One gets the sense in most of the tracks that the journeys created are meant to be taken together. That is, rather than the band playing to the listener the route traveled is meant to be traveled concurrently – the band is on the journey alongside the listener, not simply guiding them. The band maintains a level of accessibility at the same time that screams professionalism. “Help Is Wrong” is a good example of of this. Luke Harris hooks us in with emotion-laden singing with just a twinge of rock-star entertainment value. The latter of the two diminishes, yielding to pure emotion in “Shy Grave (Just Another Zombie Apocalypse).” The album also flows seamlessly, complete with an effective (and by default not pointless and irritating) interlude in the middle. “Evolve” and “Beast” do what one would expect – they continue to evolve one’s perception of good music on this beast of a record. In all seriousness though, they round out the record well. I’m simply a bit speechless at this point with how to proceed in my description. It’s a good speechless, though.

Playing to Vapors have done what few bands can do – release a record after six plus years of playing together with the exact same lineup. The consistent lineup has allowed these guys to really come into their own as good songwriters, good musicians, and good producers who know their craft well. Identities is a masterpiece, and Columbus should pay attention. The guys have already headlined the growing Jammin in the Hills Festival in Indiana but bigger things should be in their future…

Score: 4.5/5 - TUNED UP


"PLAYING TO VAPORS “GHOST HUNTER” SINGLE REVIEW"

There’s nothing quite like a new, upcoming band that actually writes great music. Playing to Vapors recently released their new single Ghost Hunter and let me say, it really is a great song.

The song has a nice, eerie mood to it and flows very nicely. The vocals hit nice pitches that connect well with the guitar work. The chorus chant “Everyone leads and no one believes” sounds great in company of the strongly written verses and the package as a whole sounds nicely polished and well thought out. If I have any complaint, it’s that I wish it was a bit longer. With such good material, I wish it would have been more epic. With that being said, I am glad to have found these guys and am very excited to hear more from them!

Rating

8/10 - Average Bear Reviews


"Playing to Vapors"

When you hear an artist on the radio or a studio track first, you always have a just a little bit of doubt about whether you really heard “them”, or a DJ Frankenstein breathing life into something that would have been better off six feet under. But when you start from an impressive live performance like this one, you know the producer won’t have to do anything more than capture the talent that is clearly already there.

Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, and playing together since high-school, the boys of Playing to Vapors released their debut EP Identities in August of 2012. While the single from the live video shows a definite maturity in the time since it’s release, Identities is in no way lesser than their most recent work. The six tracks or ambient alternative rock are filled with rift driven songs, incredible syncopation and interplay between the instruments, and a dizzying precision on the drums. From the very first track, you get the clear impression that thought went into every rhythmic, melodic, and instrumentation choice.

My personal favorites are the dark, sarcastic Beast and the all-too-catchy Fire Up Ahead, which features the same kind of sustained, vibrato and vocal strength that makes Matthew Bellamy legendary.

This impressive EP was followed up in November 2013 with the release of the single New Direction. And now in March ’14 we are graced with the next single, Fanatic.

The production and song writing continues to progress, with a slew of effects and instrumentation that is quite frankly, really impressive. Fanatic continues the trend of rift-driven, syncopated tunes, but with an originality and growth that distinguishes it from Identities, and makes it impossible to pigeon-hole a “sound” for the newest releases.

I will certainly be on the lookout for part three. - Flowers In A Gun


"Playing To Vapors “Giant Conspiracy” Single Review"

When I reviewed Playing To Vapors last single, “Ghost Hunter”, I was thoroughly impressed. It had the poise and character of a band that had experience on all fronts. Coming from a relatively young band, it showed a lot of promise. When they announced their new Ep ” A Glitch in a Void”, I was excited to see what these guys had to offer. If the first single is any indication, they have only gotten better.

“Giant Conspiracy” opens with a Circa Survive esc guitar melody that bleeds into solid vocals. The single overall has the same mysterious undertone seen in their previous work, while bringing a fresh element into the mix. The verses build up nicely into a strong and steady chorus that will inevitably get stuck in your head. The instrumentation on an overall basis is well written and sounds complete. Even the little addition of a synth (or what I assumed to be) in the chorus adds flare. The one negative critique I have here is that I felt the song ended a bit prematurely. I was expecting a bit more of a dramatic, drawn out closing, but was left wanting more. This, of course, is not a major criticism, but nonetheless I thought it was necessary to include.

This single shows Playing to Vapors perfecting their craft with a dash of fresh intent. I always enjoy hearing new music from these guys and know they have a monster career ahead of them. I mean, they’re from Columbus, Ohio, the birthplace of fantastic new music. These guys have a lot to say, and they have found a strong voice to say it with.

Wanna hear the track? Check it out here!

https://soundcloud.com/playing-to-vapors/giant-conspiracy

Wanna hear more from these guys? Click right here and support new music!

http://www.playingtovapors.com/ - Average Bear Reviews


"Playing to Vapors - 'Shred the Master Design' (album stream) (premiere)"

Shred the Master Design is the brand-new release from Playing to Vapors. The Columbus, Ohio’s unique brand of shoegaze-cum-prog rock is on full display across this new effort. “The Perfect Weapon in Human Form” takes a page from the rock and world influences heard in peak era Talking Heads with particularly deft work from guitarists Mike Stokes and Daron Mackenzie while the brawny rhythm section of Zackary Cramp (bass) and Josiah DePaso (drums) gives us a glimpse of its powerful breadth.

Throughout the album DePaso plays with a sensitivity to melodic structure, reacting to each song’s sense of narrative and delivering additional emotional dimension. Cramp serves as more than an anchor, providing extra musical depth in songs already rich in that matter. A song such as “Twin Flame” walks the line between the artful and the accessible: Doses of edge-cutting sounds rub elbows with a powerful hook and masterful, drama-fueled vocal performance from Lucas Harris. It is as once the kind of hefty catharsis dealt up by bands such as Neurosis and the kind of sweet but search melodicism heard from Minus the Bear. The culmination of the group’s tendency to create complex, charged sound structures is the closing “Lydia”, a piece that may or may not be a love song and which imagines a marriage between vintage Radiohead and the Plastic Ono Band. It’s six minutes of heavy travel that offers no easy answers before it makes itself absent, inviting listeners to wait patiently for the band’s return or to take the journey all over again.

It’s become commonplace for some bands to walk the line between the worlds of the arty and the accessible but to do it as successfully as this collective has is anything but common. Hovering over all this is a sense of intrigue and an intention to inspire deep, passionate listening among the audience. The music thrusts us between the poles of comfort and disquiet with ease and respect, a commendable feat all on its own.

Harris, though, suggests that this was less a matter of fate than design. “We sought to throw out many of the practices we’d used in the past to make a record (hence the title). It was the first album we’d recorded to tape, many of the decisions were made at the moment, and songs were literally crafted as we were tracking them. Our producer Josh Antonuccio was all about capturing performances and bringing out the energy that he saw from us live. This gave the album a raw aesthetic that can be heard on many of the tracks.”

Playing to Vapors’ Shred the Master Design is out June 16 and may be streamed in its entirety now. - PopMatters


Discography

2017 - Shred The Master Design (LP)
2015 - A Glitch In A Void (EP)
2014 - Ghost Hunter (Single)
2014 - Fanatic (Single)
2013 - A New Direction (Single)
2012 - Identities (EP)

Photos

Bio


Columbus, Ohio alternative rock outfit, Playing To Vapors, blast
sweeping, ethereal soundscapes over an inescapable wall of sound.
The band was named a "Band to Watch in 2016" by
Columbus Alive Magazine for their lush, ambient soundscapes and
dynamic live shows. In combining storybook lyrics, seductive
melodies and booming rhythmic grooves, Playing To Vapors is sure
to bring their infectious, meticulously crafted rock to a more national audience this year. 
 

Playing To Vapors has opened for artists Maps & Atlases, Civil Twilight, CHON, Parachute, Dreamers, Saintseneca, Walker Lukens, Idlehands, Brick + Mortar, played festivals such as CMJ, Canadian Music Week, Bunbury Festival, Brite Winter, Paper City Music Festival, Independent's Day. 

Playing To Vapors released their debut EP 'Identities' in 2012 and since Autumn 2013 have released a series of singles including “A New Direction”, “Fanatic”, and “Ghost Hunter”.

The band's 2nd EP titled "A Glitch In A Void", released April 2015, is available now.

"Whisper" music video has been nominated for a 2015 Toronto Reel Indie Film award, and awarded Best Music Video of 2015 by Out of The Blue Magazine, and appeared at SXSW 2016.

The Kickstarter-funded debut LP is due June 2017!

Band Members