Vapors of Morphine performs the music of 90s “low rock” band Morphine alongside new sounds -- ethereal, hypnotic and expansive. Formed over a decade ago by Morphine saxophonist Dana Colley with singer & multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Lyons, and Morphine’s original drummer Jerome Deupree, the group now includes drummer Tom Arey (J. Geils Band, Peter Wolfe's Midnight Ramblers, Ghosts of Jupiter). Their latest album, Fear & Fantasy on Schnitzel Records (UK), features both drummers and explores the roots and branches of the Morphine tree. A chance encounter between low rocker Colley and a street singer has coalesced into a creative partnership. Struck by a busking blues band while on tour in New Orleans, Colley stopped to listen, grabbed his Polaroid and took a couple snapshots, leaving one in the guitar case along with a tip. Years and many catastrophes later -- including Morphine front-man Mark Sandman's fatal heart attack onstage in 1999 and Lyons's relocation to Boston following hurricane Katrina -- Lyons and Colley were introduced by mutual friends and began collaborating informally. They soon discovered the photo of Lyons and his street band pasted into one of Dana’s tour journals, along with a detailed description of the band. And again, a number of years later, Jeremy discovered that he had the mate to the Polaroid in Dana’s journal amongst the few of his photos that survived Katrina flooding ! Lyons, Colley and Deupree jammed and played some small bar gigs, but they never touched a Morphine song until 2009 when invited to perform at the Nel Nome Del Rock festival in Italy, scene of Morphine's last gig. The response cemented the trio's bond & Vapors of Morphine was born. Vapors of Morphine honors Mark Sandman's legacy by blazing paths in new directions. A restless spirit, Sandman headed a number of bands in different styles, some of which shine through Vapors. The influence of Southern American music is heard in Lyons's swamp-tinged treatment of traditional songs. Colley's processed saxophone -- testing the upper limits of low rock and blurring the line between wind instrument and electric guitar -- continues the Morphine tradition of sonic exploration. And the group's arrangements of African guitar music bring to mind the variety of ethnic music heard around multicultural Central Square, Cambridge, where there is a corner named for Mark Sandman. All of this was on full display in their 2015 release A New Low. Their current album Fear & Fantasy (Schnitzel Records, UK) represents both a new era and a return to form for Vapors. There are new songs and sounds, including a lot of guitar and Colley’s electric “low sax,” but also the familiar rumble of two-string, slide bass. In its often lush arrangement, it recalls Morphine's final album, The Night, where Deupree teamed up with Billy Conway, the drummer who had replaced him; this time Arey plays on one side, Deupree on the other. Seems fitting when both bands have been blessed with a revolving cast of top-notch percussionists. Contrary to the obvious misconception, Morphine was named for the ancient Greek dream deity Morpheus, not for the drug. But Vapors of Morphine is a drug that can take you places people only visit in dreams, with no hangover. Although you may indeed find yourself coming back for more.