#3. Vesperteen - Medicine
For the better part of 2018, the Top 20 Countdown was a 3 horse race, with equal parts Curse of Cassandra, #s 2 and 1 bucking for the top spot. Slowly but surely, Vesperteen rode along side and surged forward at the end of the year to take the top Ohio spot on our list. Vesperteen is the solo project of Colin Rigsby, drummer for House of Heroes. HoH are a Columbus institution, and have made this list twice (2011 and 2016), while back in 2016, Rigsby made the Honorable Mention list with "Shatter in the Night", a song that served as a launching platform for his solo career. He has also greatly profited in his association with the boys from local heroes Twenty One Pilots. I first met him way back after I graduated from high school when we went to the same church, and we actually still go to a similar off-shoot from that church. In seeing him on Sundays I can tell you that he is a fantastic man and a wonderful father to his awesome kids, but that's not what we're here for is, it is?
Vesperteen has built his empire around catchy hooks and party-pop sensibilities while still writing poignant and important lyrics. The Hype Is Dead opens with a dagger of a track titled "Fifteen Minutes", calling out people who are riding their own self-inflated popularity for too long. It closes with "Blue", a slower number about fighting through depression. The entire record digs in much deeper than his first EP and has been moderately successful despite much local radio support. Fortunately Rigsby brings an incredible live show, generally singing while drumming and bouncing off of all the walls. He also does wonderfully re-imagined covers and brings his trademark smile to every performance.
A week before The Hype Is Dead dropped, "Medicine" was released as a single. I'll admit that when it started I kind of glossed over it, listening but not really feeling. But when the bridge hit and I had to stop what I was doing to play it over and over again. The entire focus of the song changes when Rigsby utters the line "take my words with water, choke back tidal waves, send you hope in bottles, counting down the days" and then repeats it along with the chorus "we could be alright, I could be your medicine". It really launches the song into another dimension. I was going through an emotional time and the song gave me hope and strength to get through those springtime blues. It became even more prevalent after the passing of Pastor Simon, where it became a battle cry against the dark times surrounding his passing. It was one of those songs that just continually became better the more I listened to it, all the way up to #3. I was grateful to see Colin at church a few weeks after its release and thank him for writing such a powerful, life-altering song. It racked up 30k streams on Spotify and showed that Rigsby has stand-alone power as a star on his own.
Favorite line: "Take my words with water, choke back tidal waves. Send you hope in bottles, counting down the days."
Title: Medicine
Artist: Vesperteen
Album: The Hype Is Dead
Previous #3s
2017: The Naked and Famous - Medicine
2016: POP ETC - What Am I Becoming?
2015: Slipknot - (A) Skeptic; (B) The Devil in I
2014: Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)
2013: The Airborne Toxic Event - Timeless
2012: Walk the Moon - Anna Sun
2011: Matt and Kim - Good for Great
2010: Fear Factory - Final Exit
2009: Owl City - Fireflies
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