In the wake of the Louisville–via–Chicago late-millennium post-rock explosion, Mercury Program arrived at an amorphous “scene” in transition, vibraphone in hand. From The Vapors of Gasoline—their 2000 album for Tiger Style—was hardly a sophomore slump. Its ten cerebral and dissonant jams coyly answer the never-asked query: What if new age and post-hardcore bought a house in the suburbs?
This 25th anniversary remaster reveals the genius of an overlooked triumph in startlingly vibrant detail, providing atmospheric color for erstwhile reptile and periodic table fans alike.