Canada calling once more and this time it is Spells of Vertigo on the line with their message being contained within the confines of the three songs that make up their “Soaked” EP.
Spells of Vertigo - Keegan Powell, Dan Marranca and John Lubanski – have taken the hybrid approach and have, to their credit, avoided the traps of derivation and reverence that are so often the downfall of bands following the path from the past. Whilst the rock excesses of the seventies have clearly played a part in the musical development of Spells of Vertigo, the band also provide more than enough evidence that their purpose is to go forward rather than to relentlessly ponder what has gone before.
“Telegenic” is the most conventional song here with nothing other than a short and discordant intro to make the song stand out from the crowd. “Baby Born (With No Brain)”, on the other hand, takes a positive step down the kind of alleyway that inevitable leads into the street with no end and, whilst at times anarchic and at times polite, this song makes you appreciate the collapsing space around us. “Clover”, being three of three, is the near obligatory opus with Keegan Powell taking his voice for a six minute walk with all the ghosts lost in the machine.
In days gone by, the cognoscenti would call Spells of Vertigo a head band but, in the here and now, we might better think of them as the kind of band unafraid to walk all the way to the edge of the stage that is life.