Album Review: Kate Miller-Heidke - Oh, Vertigo!

“I'm sick of tiptoeing 'round,” sings Kate Miller-Heidke on Oh, Vertigo! opener Offer It Up – a line that sets the precedence for what's about to follow. The Queensland singer has made a name for herself with her unique use of operatic vocals in pop songs and it seems set out on a mission to exploit that diverse range, experimenting with somewhat unorthodox techniques whilst writing album number four, as is evident in the six-plus vocal tracks dancing around each other on Rock This Baby To Sleep.

Yours Was The Body allows the listener to regain their bearings temporarily before the record's second single, Oh, Vertigo!, knocks them back to the ground with a series of unexpected and pleasantly surprising turns, voiding all sense of where things will venture next. The remaining nine tunes don't seem to follow any set direction, which simply adds to the album's charm, and keeps things interesting.

Carefully placed guest vocalists Passenger, Drapht and Megan Washington add their spin on three of the album's best tracks, Passenger transforming Share Your Air into an instant hit that may even be Miller-Heidke's best work to date.

Anyone who pledged to the Oh, Vertigo! crowd-funding campaign can rest assured that their money was put to good use as, with a clear headspace and support from fans, Miller-Heidke has found a healthy blend of the quirky elements of 2008's Curiouser and more serious nature of 2012's Nightflight.