More thoughtful than most industrial rock outings, more structurally interesting than most indie projects, The Haunted South features songs that make interesting transitions in unexpected places...

The Haunted South
Vertica
www.facebook.com/VerticaBandpage
Time: 13 tracks / 44:25 minutes

You won't be able to 'get' Vertica's The Haunted South without at least a handful of listenings – and even then, you'll still be trying to place it in your inner musical genre-file with little success. And that's a good thing.

James McCurley, the band's songwriter, lyricist, drummer, pianist and sometimes singer, presides over an album that rocks hard in some places and casts a moody, indie-shadow in others. The heavy distorted guitar on the opening track, "Holding Smoke," straddles alternative, industrial, heavy rock and indie, but before the following track, "Temperance," is over it becomes obvious that Vertica won't stay within the confines of any sub-genres for the length of any one song, no less a complete album.

More thoughtful than most industrial rock outings, more structurally interesting than most indie projects, The Haunted South features songs that make interesting transitions in unexpected places – gentle piano accompaniments show up following a barrage of compressed, distorted guitar by Tyler Downey, 'screamed' vocals (from bassist Joshua Ruppert) coexist next to breathy phrases by impressive vocalist Emily Brunson. Brunson herself manages to deliver visceral, raw rock vocals one moment, and gentle alt/indie stylings next. Brunson's impressive delivery is reminiscent of The Benjamin Gate's Adrienne Liesching, and Flyleaf's Lacey Sturm, although I could imagine Sixpence None The Richer's Leigh Nash singing "Always."

Smoke, ghosts, and wind feature heavily in the poetic lyrics (and I won't pretend to totally understand what they all mean just yet), which, according to McCurley's notes, are 'are no more and nothing less than memories....' Still - just to tantalize a bit - the phrase, "Love, I miss you most / You're my favorite ghost," appears in two different songs ("Ghost of Summer" and "Go North") and the evocative passage, "Lush wind in silver storms / We stepped and swayed in time / When you smiled I could've sworn, That I saw the love of Christ," appears in another ("Pearl").

Most of the songs feature the aforementioned Brunson on lead vocals (and with good reason) but McCurley also sings on several tracks, sometimes in duet with Brunson (to very good effect on "You've Been Warned"). McCurley seems to sing in two different modes – a low-key, introspective mode and a more commanding voice that, for me, is the winner of the two. On the more introspective piano-dominant "Obsidian," with its eventual electric guitar-heavy build-up, you can hear some Sufjan Stevens influence.

There's some very spacious, somber music on The Haunted South, coupled with a contemporary sound-scape and an often raw, emotional attack. The playing is excellent, often innovative – the bass/drum foundation of "Open Water," for instance, and the guitar solo on the album's final track, "Go North."

Well worth checking out for yourself, The Haunted South can be found at various outlets, many of which will have audio samples, and can be ordered at Radiant Records and other on-line vendors.

Bert Saraco
www.facebook.com/express.image

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