Jayden Wark latest offering is The Vision Is Dead. It’s an exciting listen, and I predicted as much from the opening track, “What’s In His Head?” Opening with a falsetto-driven acapella vocal performance from Wark, the song quickly scorches my ears with a buzzing, catchy electric guitar riff. Coupled with a punchy drum beat and spoken-word vocals, there’s a vibrant punk attitude to this track. It’s a soaring intro to the album — the unexpected piano chords and beautiful harmonized vocals in the fuzzy, wall-of-sound choruses really blew me away. There are so many musical styles on offer in this one song, so I knew to expect great things from the opening track alone. It’s a rollercoaster journey. “Dance Your Life Away” is driven by a funky, upbeat synth bass riff and a booming electronic beat. I had no idea what to expect after the eclectic, multi-faceted opener. So, I guess I did expect the unexpected in a way. This second track is packed with the same distorted, dissonant, fuzzy energy as the first track, of course — distorted electric guitar slides into the mix for Muse-esque guitar and synth-arpeggio choruses. There’s some sizzling lead guitar on this fast-paced, anthemic track too. It’s seriously impressive that Wark can create such a full band sound on his own — and a sound that could seriously set a huge venue alight. It’s a huge sonic experience. So many layers. Such an enormous wall of sound. The penultimate titular track “The Vision Is Dead” opens with gloomy, spacious synths and glitchy, glitzy alien sounds. Wark tenderly sings about space atop stark, Bowie-esque piano chords. This is an absolutely beautiful ballad. It’s so drastically different from many of the fast-paced tracks on the record, but it’s a beautiful piece that, for me, serves as the ultimate highlight of the album. Wark really delivers a masterfully written piece of music here. Such a stunning melody. I loved the sudden introduction of dark, electrifying guitars in the second half of the song too. And yet the track never loses its ethereal, dream-like essence. It’s clear as to why Wark chose this as the title track for the album. Magnificent. Six minutes of cathartic bliss. The cherry on top of a brilliant album.