Del Vertigo’s On The Day You Come To opens with “Obsidian Hills,” which is built upon a memorably jangling electric guitar part. His vocal is filled with long, sustained notes, while the guitar work is accompanied by quirky, wonky sounds and a far away backing vocal. At 5:22, this opener is actually not the five-song project’s longest song; its longest piece clocks in at 7:47. Needless to say, this is an album filled with epic selections.
Listen to the album here:
“There’s A Glimmer In The Thicket” follows, and is the shortest selection, at only 2:51. On it, Vertigo’s voice sounds strained against the backdrop of skewed orchestration. It comes and goes, almost before
you even know it.
Next, we get to the long one, “In Dreams.” Vertigo sings it over a, well, dreamy sounding soundscape. His voice is different than the one he uses for preceding pieces. It’s vocalized at a much lower register. A few minutes in, trumpet is added to the mix, which gives the selection more of a formal orchestral feel. After the song’s vocal part, there is a long, somewhat discordant, instrumental part. It’s ambient, moody and not altogether melodic. It’s almost as if it’s a completely different track altogether, as it changes the song’s mood so completely. Perhaps, it’s the soundtrack to the dreams sung about during the track’s vocal portion. However, it’s more than a little scary, and much more like a nightmare than a dream. There are layers and layers of instrumentation, which alternate over an extended note.
“The Fall” opens quietly and builds with subtle orchestration. This all drops off, though, and a plunky keyboard part replaces it before the vocal sets in. Once again, Vertigo sings each note as extended notes. No clipped syllables in his repertoire. Instead, he stretches each note and phrase, nearly to the breaking point. In this case, his voice comes out slightly wobbly. It’s a little like a somber Miles Davis trumpet part – only with the human voice.
Closer and title track, “On The Day That You Come To,” breaks distinctly with the album’s established sonic pattern. It’s built upon a clunky, electric guitar riff. It is, indeed, a striking contrast. Vertigo sings with a much angrier, snottier singing style. No longer the tortured soul. Instead, Vertigo comes off raspy and pissed off. The electric guitar is given plenty of room to improvise around the established opening riff. This is rock and roll, without a doubt. Del Vertigo sounds more influenced by Eric Clapton than Brian Eno on this album concluder.
If you need music to have an immediate impact upon your psyche, listen to either the opener (“Obsidian Hills”) or the closer, (“On The Day That You Come To”). However, you have the patience to let music grow on you and take time to build and develop, explore the three middle tracks on this release. This is ambitious music and requires focused listening. You cannot appreciate it absentmindedly. Del Vertigo, as his name strongly suggests, is dizzyingly good.
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-Dan MacIntosh