Wand – Vertigo
Drag City
Since their 2014 debut, Ganglion Reef, the L.A.-based Wand have braided garage, psych, and classic rock into a fuzzed-out whole that constantly swings between inspiration and tribute.
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On their 2022 live album, Spiders in the Rain, Wand showcased their many gifts outside the studio—drawing heavily from Ty Segall, with whom many of their members have toured and backed on stage. But it also makes Vertigo feel like a shuffle back into the quiet room: less badassery glowering in your third eye, more polite chamber-rock that settles for pleasantness over vigor.
Still, Vertigo offers a lot of what makes Wand a moody delight, from the pulsating fuzzwave of “Hangman” to the dreamy horns and plinked keys of “Lifeboat.” It meanders with curiosity, having been semi-improvised in the writing process, and it’s rife with decades of comforting rock and folk landmarks.
By going heavy on vibes and light on volume, singer-guitarist Cory Hanson channels a very pale, English lilt that strays even further from the Thom Yorke pool. Lyrics are built around things he doesn’t want to do—things hidden, unsaid, and locked inside his brain. His high, smooth voice is a stark contrast to the nakedly hero-worshipping (or maybe oblivious channeling) of Pavement’s “Summer Babe” on “Smile,” which is practically a half-speed cover. Seventies Latin and soft-rock sounds soak the Santana-meets-Steely-Dan “Lifeboat,” and album closer “Seaweed Head” rolls like a Loaded outtake, a sun-faded poster for VU’s “I Found a Reason” hanging in their resin-stained practice space.
You won’t hear much new on Vertigo, but what’s there is lovingly, potently rendered. – GRADE: B
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