Verttigo
Tomorrow is Gone
self-released
Edmonton five-piece Verttigo’s debut LP has arrived, and the sound is both familiar and unexpected. If you had seen the band perform at any time in recent years, their marriage of dream pop and synthy post-punk fit for the dancefloor should be very familiar, with the record handily capturing their live sound in all it’s hazy glory. Still, Tomorrow is Gone has more than a few surprising and subtly touching moments woven into its nine tracks, especially in the way vocalist Jasmine Ming Wai-Ma’s warm, emotive delivery plays off the band’s solid rhythmic foundations.
Its that contrast that best defines Vertiggo’s approach, the interaction of the bass (provided by band leader and producer Ryan Rathjen) and drums with the sparkly keys and delicate guitar lines that fill out each track’s melody. A number like the excellent “Light Bearer” is filled to the brim with reverberating tremolo chords and shoegazey textures that give it an enveloping vibe, but its the insistent surf beat that steadily pushes it through the changeups in its whirling arrangement. Similarly, the opening title track is amply dramatic thanks to how the outsized atmosphere provided by the guitar, synths and vocals (both those of Ming Wai-Ma, and background shouts in the distance) are driven forward relentlessly, the organic swell of emotion made desperate and exciting by the tempo.
Where Ming Wai-Ma makes her mark on the material is in switching up her delivery in ways that match each song’s remit. If the track demands wistful (such as the chiming, sentimental “The Watcher”) she goes into the upper register of her range, keening, but still grounded enough to lend the song some body. Alternately, on the peppy “Snow Angels” she opts for a soulful, yet ethereal approach, making the moments where she ascends from the song’s breakdown feel especially uplifting and radiant. Having only recent taken on the role of vocalist (despite having been a very early collaborator during the band’s infancy), it’s remarkable how well she suits this material, almost all of which has been in the band’s repertoire for some time.
Verttigo strikes a really pleasant balance on Tomorrow is Gone; it has the flowy elegance of your more pop-oriented shoegaze, but with some genuine rock motor running through it all. Moreover, the material is tastefully executed, avoiding the cliches that bedevil many of the other darkwave and 80s revivalist acts they share DNA with, sounding confident and poised whether lost in reverie or fully locked into a groove. It’s a fine debut that accurately captures the band’s charms, and their promise.
