ALBUM REVIEW: Carol Hodge – Vertiginous Drops (Midnight Stamp)
Carol Hodge is perhaps best known as the singer who plays keyboards and sings with Crass legend Steve Ignorant’s live band.
She also plays keys for Texan country rock star Ryan Hamilton and has guested with Ginger Wildheart, Headsticks and The Membranes, among others.
But she’s an accomplished singer-songwriter in her own right, and this is her fourth solo album of wonderful genre-spanning music.
Previous albums Hold On To That Flame (2018), Savage Purge (2020) and The Crippling Space Between (2021) featured on several top album end-of-year lists, but Vertiginous Drops might just be her best work yet.
It’s as far away from anarcho-punk as you can imagine; think of a British version of Regina Spektor and you’d be closer to the mark. But it does confirm Carol as a very special talent.
Soulful voice
She’s got seven fingers due to a birth defect, but that doesn’t matter a bit, as she’s such a talent, with a soaring, soulful voice which transcends all sorts of different styles.
From torch song piano ballads to full-on big rock numbers, she switches styles with ease, pouring more emotion into every song than many artists put into an entire career.
We begin with the soaring The Best Will In The World, an uplifting full-band anthem for anyone wracked with self-doubt, featuring subtle, yearning brass and showcasing her voice perfectly.
The Price, a big, bold indie-pop song, starts with some ’80s synths, set to a mid-paced pulsing rhythm, and features guest vocals from Ginger Wildheart, but things take a more melancholy turn with Grayson (Things Could Always Be Worse), which is carried by plaintive piano and some aching strings.
Never Run Out Of Things To Worry About has a Depeche Mode-like electro sound with slightly robotic synthesised vocals, while Clean The Slate has a choral opening before Carol’s strident voice takes over and big rock guitars kick in.
Despite its title, there’s an upbeat feel to Giving It Up Now, which ends like a Sgt Pepper-era Beatles song, and has a coda – “I can say with certainty that there will be uncertainty” – which you’ll be singing to yourself for days.
Now, Carol seems like a nice person, but the next couple of tracks show she has a steely side too. Oh, Amanda! sounds like it’s about being let down by a hero – Amanda Palmer is my guess, which is ironic, as she’s one of the artists I’ve previously compared Ms Hodge to!
No punches are pulled as she sings: “I used to think that you had something special/But I just hear how your ego floats every note/They told me that’s it’s bad advice to try and meet your heroes/And now I know the truth…”
Bitch, Don’t Break My Serenity is a warning that she’s not someone you want to get on the wrong side of, and there’s real venom as she sings “you will never catch me lying“.
It’s just Carol and her piano again on Wrong Side Of The Glass, which sounds like someone reaching the end of their tether and giving up on … well, everything, but carrying a positive message that “you’re more than just the sum of your parts“.
Last, but not least, is Silhouettes – the best song on the album and probably my favourite Carol Hodge song yet. It’s an absolutely stunning piece of songwriting as she bares her soul once again, channelling despair, defiance and hope within the space of one song.
If you want to find your favourite new songwriter, you really need to get some of Carol Hodge’s music into your life. If her songs don’t stir some kind of emotion in you then I’m afraid you’re made of stone. 8.5/10.
