Album Review: Papa Vegas - Hello Vertigo (1999)

Papa Vegas - Hello Vertigo (1999)

Papa Vegas were truly one of the most underrated, undiscovered gems in rock. With only one EP and one album to their name, Papa Vegas easily got lost in the musical vacuum of 1999, but they had something more than the 1999 music scene, they were on a completely different level. While Hello Vertigo was released into a year where most of the music wasn't that good - Hello Vertigo could have easily been the best rock album of 1998, or 1997, almost 2001 even (Tool's Lataralus might take that award) – popular music was shifting away from alternative/modern rock. Being released in early 1999 along side Vertical Horizon's Everything You Want and The Verve Pipe's eponymous "froggy" album, Hello Vertigo made a little splash and not much more, a loss to music. But remember that Britney Spears came out the same time, in addition to the true ascension of nu-metal and the Fred Durst army. Essentially, it rained crap at the end of the 90s, and nothing, good or bad, made it out clean. It might not be surprising then that nothing before or since has really come close to replicating the sonics of Hello Vertigo (the closest is probably the "froggy" album). The album is truly a one-of-a-kind product of the punctuated equilibrium of pop-culture at the end of a very dynamic decade, like a marginalized Darwinian finch. From the opening discord and jarring guitar riff of “Something Wrong,” the scene of the album is set, ripe with bleak musical landscapes and subtle sci-fi imagery (yes, they probably enjoyed The X-Files). The opener then fades into “Bombshell,” a perfect song to end the Clinton years. Despite the constant tone of the album, Papa Vegas does possess versatility, and it shows on the spacey ballad "Mesmerized," only to recede to the surging "Long Days," the heaviest track on the album. However, the best tracks are the driving "No Destination" and the swelling tempest "On Your Own." After the closing chimes on the album finale “Resolve” have ceased, it’s clear that Hello Vertigo is a unique album. While many bands have flirted with brooding melodic rock in songs, Papa Vegas crafted an entire album using this darker spectrum with expertise. The guitars and bass are deep and calculated, but never feel mechanical; the vocals are sharp, but never feel overbearing; the production is polished, but it never feels glossy; and the subtle electronic flourishes only add to the experience, as opposed to “retrofitting” the music. Papa Vegas was only given one chance to really show the world what they could do, and they forged a near masterpiece drawing upon the darker side of rock, sans angst or hubris. It's just too bad that this treasure is still buried.

4.5/5

“You may find that the road runs out if you drive too fast / In a lane of confusing turns that you can’t take back”

S. McSmoke-Smoke