The Essential Impetus of Jimmy Galvin and System Vertigo by Rachel Wild

System Vertigo is an apposite title for this particular ensemble of musical talent, all of whom have surveyed the world from the heady heights of soaring critical acclaim. Comprised of three members of Portishead, the rhythm section of Reprazent, and fronted by the prolific, diversely talented, Jimmy Galvin; contemplating their collective creative output is likely to promote a somewhat vertiginous response in even the most grounded amongst us.

I first saw Jimmy Galvin and System Vertigo perform live at the cavernous Bocobar at Paintworks in April. It was a compelling performance: Jimmy Galvin is nothing if not intense. His demeanour is edgy, but not necessarily anxious. Like so many gifted people who possess a strong sense of creative integrity, his appearance is that of someone who is still trying to figure out how to contain so much ability, and desire to create, within just one man.

Meeting new people must present a challenge to someone of Galvin’s personality type. You get the impression that he possesses a profound take on existence, and is probably often misunderstood. Eyeing me quizzically, it seemed as though he was trying to evaluate whether I would get where he was coming from or not. “Some say you are the natural born heirs of the Bristol music scene” I postulated, trying to make in-roads to his apparently labyrinthine world. “No”, he replied with a sense of urgency, intensifying the enquiring look in his eyes. “It’s about doing my own thing” he confirmed; “I love the Bristol thing. Don’t get me wrong. But I need to make my own mark, and do something different.” A smile had emerged on my face as I listened, nodding, allowing the tension to release from my shoulders as I moved in closer. I liked this man. I appreciated what he was saying. His conviction reached into me, and was met with approbation. In my experience it is rare to meet someone with such sincerity and courage, and I felt enthused by the fundamental drive that informs his work.

In some ways it felt irrelevant to pose more questions and elicit more answers. What seemed important, was to allow the music, and the delivery of it, to speak for itself. Nevertheless, the question of who inspires him was too irresistible. “John Adams”, was his immediate response. But “ America’s most esteemed composer” was not the answer I was expecting, even though it’s not so difficult to see why Galvin would cite this man as being influential. Adam’s music is written mainly for piano and strings, and is often dramatically emotive, oscillating between the evocation of baleful urgency and alarm, to bathos and melancholy, suffused with a sense of hope. All these things are to be found in Galvin’s music as well, but are presented to us in a contemporary, rather than a classical or an abstracted experimental style. The use of vocals and lyric add another dimension, personalising this spectrum of emotion, making it auto biographical and ultimately more relevant. In Galvin’s work there’s a context. He is willing to bare his soul so that we can witness the origin of the torments that he has faced, the revelations he’s experienced, and the redemption that he knows exists, but hasn’t quite experienced in it’s entirety.

Some of Galvin’s compositions are nothing short of dedications to a tortured soul, but his more recent output is permeated with hope, gratitude and acceptance, even though there is still a sense of exigency present in much of what he writes. Instrumentally, intro’s often sound like someone urgently raising the alarm, demanding that we pay heed to the words, which convey a timeless and essential theme. There is an underlying spiritual craving in much of what he writes; “Is it asking too much, for something to save us?”, is the question repeated throughout one of his earlier, more haunting pieces, infused by the backing vocals of “Lord have mercy; Lord have mercy”. Lyrics written more recently show an evolution in thinking and understanding… “You are the one who saved me from being blind. You know it’s time to move into the light”.

There’s a ‘coming home’ feel to much of Jimmy’s words, and the music corresponds. Ethereal arrangements and uplifting phrases sweep like waves of absolution throughout his more recent work. The use of strings, deeply resonant, sympathetically earth these delicate flutterings, gently emphasised by the deft percussive infusions. This music is commanding, and demands the attention of your mind, your heart and your soul.

For me the sound and accent of System Vertigo is some kind of distillation of Philip Glass, Tori Amos, Goldie (Saturn Returnz), Joni Mitchell, Mike Scott (Waterboys), JK and Keith Jarrett. But it is just as likely that you would have an entirely different take on this enigmatic sound. Notwithstanding, there is one thing that I’m sure that we could all agree on. Jimmy Galvin and System Vertigo are eminently worth listing to, but are not for the faint-hearted.

Review: Rachel Wild April 2007.
Photos: Kev @ www.bristolbands.com