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At first glance, one could assess that the guitar parts in the title track of Del Vertigo’s On the Day That You Come To are just a bit oversized for the space they’re afforded in the master mix. It’s a judgment I would agree with, but in all actuality, this is one of the more essential components of the song’s charm. Much like its brethren in this record, the title cut in On the Day That You Come To is a work of a contradictory composing, alluding to experimentalism that isn’t accepted in contemporary alternative rock nearly as much as it should be – at least when Del Vertigo isn’t playing it for us.
On the Day That You Come To starts with a calculated rock effort in “Obsidian Hills” that takes Dead Meadow-style psychedelia and mixes it with a more deliberate, almost mathy approach to arranging a hook, and as aficionado-centric as you would assume this concept is, it’s actually pretty accessible – and strangely sports a lot of radio appeal, even if it comes to us in a proto-grunge sort of a fashion. Del Vertigo is playing with fire, admittedly, but he isn’t turning in halfhearted results here at all.
“The Fall” and “Theres a Glimmer in the Thicket” take influence from drone pop and the insularities of non-metallic heavy music, but their constant use of strong melodies makes both very intriguing listens, even if this isn’t the style of music that you would normally go for as a fan. I get the feeling that Del Vertigo wants to push both himself and the audience with this release just to see how far all parties considered can go, and from what I can tell, the gamble he makes here is a worthwhile one, being that the whole of On the Day That You Come To sounds much more personal and tangible than the status quo in pop today.
Although bloated in length, there’s nothing in “In Dreams” that lasts longer than it feels like it’s supposed to, giving some credence to the notion that even when it’s complicated, the story that Del Vertigo wants to put forth here is not fractured by his ambitiousness. Contrarily, he’s got a very complete handle on what he’s trying to do with this release and had he not, there wouldn’t be nearly as complete a feel to this music as there is here.
As a critic, I never know what a provocative effort like On the Day That You Come To is going to look and sound like until I sit down with it at least a couple of times, but I can verify that this record is not getting the focus from the indie press that it likely warrants in any scenario this year. Del Vertigo’s unwillingness to conform to the simplistic trends we’re seeing and hearing in 2022 is somewhat of a boon to the alternative rock faithful this spring, and from where I sit, that boon is one of the more exciting records I’ve heard all year long.
by Jennifer Munoz
