Author: Jerald Mendoza
Vertigo Review (3.5 stars)
On Jan. 19 indie-pop/electronica artist Jonathan Ng, known as EDEN, released his much-awaited first studio album, “Vertigo.” With the strong cult following EDEN built early in his career—producing three EP’s—EDEN continues using the blueprints to his success in his first album. EDEN has made a career out of using his melodious voice, talented instrumentation, and electronic ambience to express themes of heartbreak, doubt, and loneliness, and he continues these themes in “Vertigo.”
The album starts with “Wrong,” a short track full of forlorn lamentations of a failed relationship and bringing in depths of sorrow that set the tone for the rest of the album. The nest song, “Take Care” features grand orchestral pieces that harken back to the movie-score sound of his “End Credits” EP. The next track, “Start//End” continues with the ambient synth sound in “Take Care,” but any intrusive instrumentals are slowly paced, giving EDEN some space to show his voice.
It’s at those moments, when the music is stripped down to its bare bone sound that EDEN shines the most. “Lost//Found” is the best example of this, with only a guitar to backup EDEN’s husky, low vocals. It seems it’s in those tracks that EDEN is most comfortable and at his best. Tracks like “Crash” and “Forever//Over” also feature EDEN’s voice well, with just the right amount of ambience and synth to give space for EDEN and his vocals to really shine.
The album at some points shifts to more uptempo, frenetic songs, like “Gold” and “Float,” with mixed success. “Gold” has a familiar guitar thumping sound reminiscent of 2000’s guitar covers, and adds an extra dimension with synthy plucks and background beats that add tempo and a certain pop feel. “Float” also pushes tempo for an EDEN album, but it fails to have the same effect that “Gold” has. The faster tempo of “Float” leaves an expectation of some vocal or instrumental payoff, but the buildup led to an anticlimactic finish that all too quickly died away into the next song.
While the album does have some gems, “Vertigo” has its struggles. EDEN is fortunate that his voice carries enough depth and emotion to express such a wide spectrum of sorrow. However, the fundamental problem of the album is just that: EDEN keeps playing at the same ideas, so each song sounds similar. The album itself is impressive—expressing sadness in a musical genre younger audiences are more open to—but nothing in the album truly stands out. “Vertigo” is essentially one long song without trying to be, lacking the variance that EDEN’s older EP’s have. EDEN has a lot of potential, but if he wants to take the next step, he has to make his songs stand out not only from other musicians, but from his own songs.