Carol Hodge - Vertiginous Drops (2023)

Carol Hodge is a seven-fingered, piano-pounding, Yorkshire-dwelling Singer-Songwriter. Think Regina Spektor meets Billy Bragg, but with fewer digits and a continuous existential crisis. Crass’ Steve Ignorant just about summed up this Northern Lass quite well.

This is her fourth album it’s a dreamy lovingly cool album. Whilst she might have her roots and ethics and moral fibre bourne out of underground punk rock it doesn’t sound much like ‘Feeding OF The Five Thousand’ to be fair. What it is is wholesome piano driven pop (generally) with earthy lyrics that sit comfortably on the sincere and the tongue in cheek. It opens with something of a My Chemical Romance big ballad in its melody with a relaxed vocal that builds for the chorus and a sparce construction as the lyrics unfold.

It’s not a style I generally tend to listen to but it’s not hard to appreciate how well these songs are constructed and how passionately they are delivered. I saw Carol support Ginger sometime last year and her passion and craft shon through as did her wonderfully possitive disposition. It was refreshing and different. Funnily enough her song ‘The Price’ features Ginger and is a really good pop song. At times Carol Hodge reminds me of Eddi Reader and songs like ‘Grayson’ are attention grabbing in its simplicity and delivery. The vocals and piano are intertwined and the lush strings are sufficiently low in the mix to let the story breath.

‘Never Run Out Of Things To Worry About’ has a bit of Depeche Mode meets New Order about its pulsing synths. Clean the Slate’ also features fellow Yorkshire dweller Chris Catalyst as the song “Whigs out” to it’s conclusion. This album is pretty much as far as you can get from, say Crass but thats cool that as an artist she can turn her hand to very different styles and that versatility is a possitive. She should head out on tour with Marc Almond they both do this Torch song style really well and I find it intriguing and alluring and find myseld focussing on the lyrics and the song rather than the style its delivered in often touching and always delivered with quality.

Take a left turn and let some melancholy into your life and give this seven-fingered, piano-pounding talent a go, you might just discover something you never thought you’d like. Punk as fuck see.