“Make peace with your mistakes and they’ll turn gold, weightless, I let go,” Jonathon Ng’s sings in a deep, smoky tone, thus creating the foundation to the purpose behind his newest addition to iTunes. Releasing vertigo, his newest album, on Jan. 19th, 2018, Ng has turned his stage persona, EDEN, into a well-known name among the alternative genre of music connoisseurs. Leading with his first single, “gold,” EDEN released three originals in the tailing months of 2017.

This album unveils Ng’s new style since retiring his old stage name, The Eden Project, in 2015. The Eden Project featured Electronic Dance Music like dubstep, which Ng dropped in favor of his new more acoustic and soft music that EDEN creates. Growing up in Dublin, Ireland, Ng learned to write music, play violin, piano, guitar and drums. With 40 songs under his original stage name, his fresh start and debut album as EDEN is vertigo.

A soft guitar chord echos behind Ng’s low voice as he sings the opening line of “forever//over.” Soothing lyrics piece together a story as he remembers a summer romance, falling in love with a partner. The melancholy chord picks up when an upbeat drum enters the song, and EDEN sings of not being hurt anymore from missing his past lover. He remembers the past with ache in his tone, singing, “‘Cause everything is not alright, and we are falling. But that’s just life, without some lows there is no highs. And everything will be okay, though we are all hurting. ‘Cause time flies fast and you know, no pain is forever. Ever, forever.” Beautifully ending this song through the painful words of someone who has accepted his love is gone, yet this pain is a temporary issue because it’ll fade, and everyone will move on. Teaching a lesson with his lyrics, instilling hope to those who need help making sense of the world around them.

Another great composition on this track is “crash.” Singing in tandem with an unknown female artist, EDEN says farewell to someone who has left his life in some sense. In an interview, Ng says that not all of his songs are about a past relationship, this being one of those. Clashing with his feelings, EDEN moves on from the pain of losing someone important in his life singing, “Couldn’t make it disappear, oh I tried so hard to be strong. But I grew up today and faced that I’m not just lonely. Don’t feel much better but I guess that it’s a start.” Finally letting go of his pain and moving to a place where he can heal.

Incorporating the myth of Icarus, into the composition of “icarus,” where from wings made of gold and wax, Icarus tried to escape a prison. His hubris and arrogance got the best of him and he flew too close to the sun, melting the wax and causing a fall to his eventual death. Using these themes, EDEN sings of how he is in a downward stumble, unable to right himself from “falling in reverse.” Again, EDEN is showcasing his skill as a lyricist, using Icarus as a metaphor for himself. Creating, for those who know the tragedy, a picture of someone falling into the sea, knowing they will drown. A disastrous ending. Even more tragic to think as though Ng sees himself as that person falling to his death.

EDEN has mastered bringing emotion into his voice, captivating listeners and being able to reach others through music. He has an insane ability to sing through the sadness his lyrics portray, with voice cracks peeking through and other emotions taking a toll on the delivery of the notes. In all arrangements, EDEN has given himself to the music. His tone carries the weight of words and delivers them with a soft punch that leaves a mark on your heart, almost as if you are experiencing his pain in that moment you hear these songs.

This album will no doubt leave a mark on whoever listens. It journeys through a sea of emotions striking a chord that will ring in most anyone. Have a box of tissues ready and devote time to listen to the lyrics on vertigo. You won’t regret it.

*****/5