It’s been five years since the last Wand album and a lot has gone on in their world since “Laughing Matter”. The band’s line up changed significantly — only singer-guitarist Cory Hanson and drummer Evan Burrows remain from their original line up and since Hanson released two very good solo albums, including last year’s unfortunately named “Western Cum”. With new members inspiring new sounds, in particular Evan Backer who comes from a music composition background, Wand went back into the studio to quietly blow up their sound. Hanson mostly left guitar duties to Rober Cody and played Fender Rhodes electric piano instead, while Backer arranged strings and horns while the band got inspired by Miles Davis’ electric albums from the ’70s.
The result is “Vertigo”, a record unlike anything they have made before that still retains their Wand-iness. Gone are the guitar heroics and in their place are subtle, simmering arrangements and songs that don’t follow traditional pop arrangements and often flow into seamlessly into the next. This all makes for an “album” album, in the ’70s sense, where you’re meant to listen to the whole thing as a piece. “Vertigo” is not “difficult” but it does benefit greatly from dedicated listening — it’s a great headphone album — and there are no shortage of standouts, including the syncopated horn blasts of “Mistletoe,” the dreamy, jazzy “Lifeboat,” and the swaying, subtle stunner “Smile.” (There are also plenty of guitars here, just not the towering riffs of their previous records.) “Vertigo” has a lot of big ideas and impressive moments packed into a mere 39 minutes, but all of them flow naturally and nothing is overstuffed. Ten years on from their debut album, Wand continue to grow and surprise in wonderful ways.
Wand is Cory Hanson, Evan Burrows, Robert Cody, and Evan Backer.
The Fat Angel Sings 