Released: July 12
In the five years since releasing her debut single, rising star Griff has put out a steady run of superb pop records, and now she finally emerges with her debut studio album ‘Vertigo’.
No stranger to chart success, her 2021 seven-song mixtape ‘One Foot In Front Of The Other’ peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart, with its single Black Hole taking her into the Top 20, and this time around she crafted her latest project in three parts that form the complete ‘Vertigo’ experience.
“The album is about vertigo as an emotion and the dizziness and upside down feeling of heartache,” says the singer-songwriter. “I wanted to drop this project in parts from insular low feelings (Vol. 1) to desperate euphoria (Vol. 2) and with volume three, the full story.”
A 14-song collection launching with its title song – a sad anthem about not being good enough for someone – the record segues between cuts from all three volumes out of chronology, with the huge Miss Me Too an early singalong moment that showcases Griff at her very best.
There are plenty of major pop moments on offer, with the vast 19th Hour – which builds from pulsing electronics and layered harmonies to a massive, beat-heavy crescendo – and band-leaning Hiding Alone immediate highlights on the record.
With a rolling beat, Into The Walls is hypnotic heartbreak pop at its best, while Cycles sees Griff take command with an EDM instrumental that suits her to a tee.
Showcasing a softer side, the soaring ballad Astronaut brings together the emotive side of Griff’s performance and the power of her vocals, while lush harmonies close out the mid-tempo Everlasting and the album comes to a head with Where Did You Go – a sparse arrangement with electrified, gospel-style harmonies that quickly becomes one of the most captivating moments on the set.
Thematically heavy, the occasional track falls short of the excellence on offer and veers ‘Vertigo’ off course momentarily, but within lies the kind of pitch-perfect, 10-song LP most artists would kill to have in their catalogue and that Griff’s fans have been eyeing for half a decade. Unsurprisingly, it’s been worth the wait.
