Here at Lazland, we are always delighted to hear of new collaborations between a bunch of talented musicians, so when we heard that guitarist John Cook (ex-This Winter Machine, ex-This Other Eden) had recruited Charlie Bramald (Ghost of the Machine, Shadows On Mercury) on vocals, bassist Mark Gatland (Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, IT), and multi-instrumentalist Dom Bennison (Last Motion Picture, ex-This Winter Machine) to occupy the drum stool, main keyboards, and handle production duties (and he puts in a tremendous shift), our brain nodules were duly tickled. Age of Distraction was born.
A Game of Whispers is the result. This fine debut is released on 31st May 2024, and is available to purchase in digipack CD format from Gravity Dream Music https://www.gravitydream.co.uk , and digitally from the band’s Bandcamp page, https://ageofdistraction.bandcamp.com/ . We thoroughly recommend that you do so. You can pre-order and I will be playing on this review the three tracks the band have already released ahead of the album itself.
There is an overarching theme, this exploring the consequences of toxic relationships and communication breakdown, and I should add that the stunning cover by Andjela Vujić adds a huge amount of artistic value to said theme.
So, twelve tracks to dissect, and we open with The Uninvited, which features a guest arrangement by the very talented Ruby Jones (whose The Exotic Ices Project was recently reviewed here) playing piano & keyboards, and the opening segment is indeed distinctive set against the crackle of the vinyl player, setting a scene for the disturbing distorted voice which itself sets the cue for a very nice orchestral expansion of synths and expressive percussion before the edifice crashes in an apocalyptic noise segueing into Break My Bones, which opens in true classic symphonic rock style, swirling keys filling your head, and some thumping drums. Charlie Bramald seems to be virtually everywhere you look and listen now, and we are not about to complain at all. He has a distinctive voice suited to the full range of rock music. I love the lyrics talking about sticks and stones, putting across so well just how hurtful humans can be with their deliberate use of language in a song which veers well between the pensive to the heavy via the symphonic, with Bramald’s voice plaintive when talking about breaking my bones. Cook produces a fine guitar solo and Gatland and Bennison make for a mighty rhythm section.
Compromised was released as a single in June 2023, and it is embedded below, a fantastic track dealing with the tensions between people as a tug of war, the lies, and the make-believe before one or all participants are invariably compromised, this playing out human interactions which take place countless times every single day and, if the anthropologists are to be believed, this enabled us to not only develop societies, but were/are critical to our very survival. The song is a classic rock fan’s delight, with some crunching riffs playing out, soaring keys, rhythm section blasting, a great guitar solo, and Bramald belting out his words.
Protect Me follows, which benefits from some very good production and effects, the throbs and pulses passing between your ears, some gorgeous keys, before the cry for help from Bramald for protection heralds a pleasing expansion in a track which is rich and full of sound with the vocal harmonies adding a great deal. The closing guitar solo is oozing with yearning with the rhythm section below as the emotional foundation.
The Plea is a shorter instrumental piece. Bennison thumps on his skins, there is a deliciously understated bassline melody, with the guitar simply beautiful scaling emotional heights, all overlaid by synth soundscapes. This is a non-lyrical highlight of 2024 thus far, taking the listener on a musical journey full of feeling and human communication.
Take Me Down is the second single from the album, and features on lead vocals Philip Stuckey (he also wrote the lyrics) of Stuckfish and once again, Ruby Jones magnificent on piano & keyboards. This is a lush track, all sounding so full, and it is embedded below. It deals with what could either be a lover, a friend, or perhaps business associate, bandmate, whose eyes, and charms, pull you in to almost the point of no return.
The title track is the third single from the album, and this is also embedded below. It featured as Prog magazine’s “track of the week” last September, and with good reason. The whole theme of the album is encapsulated in this track, with twisted parodies and lies whispered, and in this game, no one wins if no one lies. It is melodic, it is expansive with the synths especially overlaying a mighty sound, Bramald is at the top of his game as he tells the story, and some of the riffs as the track develops are thundering with some dystopian effects. A cracking piece of hard rock.
The Point of No Return is up next, and the guitar which heralds its arrival is as urgent as it gets in the opening minute before the collective then take us on a musical journey where we are hurtling towards said point, and it is done very cleverly, because emotionally it is usually the case that you are pulled in before you really know it, but that point at which you cannot pull out takes you in so fast, you barely realise what is happening, all the while your mental state in turmoil. This simply must figure in any consideration for instrumental track of the year at the end of 2024.
After this emotional rollercoaster, the listener needs a bit of a breather, and Oceans provides this with a pretty acoustic guitar to start. Bramald provides further evidence of his range with a particularly sensitive vocal, some gorgeous ghostly guitar work, Gatland impressing with his work, Bennison laid back but no less effective on his single thumps, and this is all set against some impressive orchestral arrangements in a track which fills the room with sound. Symphonic rock at its finest.
The Left Unsaid is a shorter couple of minutes piece, and, of course, some things are better left unsaid, kept silent in the mind, although within the mind, the thoughts and sentiments can fester, and this is the sense I get from this track with its effects and noises circling around the guitar, throbbing bass, and disturbing effects, the impact wearing down the wellbeing of the host.
The penultimate track is Sneak Attack, the longest track at not far short of eight minutes long. The opening passage with its keys does kind of sneak up on the listener before the riffs take precedence once more alongside some very clever keyboard effects. Gatland and Bennison combine to great effect on this in a tale of suspicion and fear, this very much marked by the keys which create a brooding constant noise with the guitars pointing dagger like in the staccato notes before the main Cook solo produces the attack itself with a killer riff leading the band in a hard rock paradise.
So, to the closing track, My Peace, another shorter piece to bookend the album appropriately alongside The Uninvited, and Bennison provides us with some gorgeous orchestration again. This is a beautiful pastoral rock track which gives us the close to the fights and turmoil which preceded it, the keyboards deliciously noisy.
We are, I believe, living in an age of creativity unmatched since the pioneering days of the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Regrettably, the commercial landscape does not match this for the artists who give us so much joy, but I remain convinced that this will follow if we all fight hard enough to bring to our compatriots the sheer joy and emotions that intelligent music brings, away from the corporate morass most are ensconced in. To the roster of our musical pioneers in the third decade of the 21st century can safely be added Age of Distraction.
A Game of Whispers is a very intelligent album, a work which delights from the first listen, and then proceeds to spread its tentacles around your senses until you are at its very own point of no return. It is rooted in the real human experience, and cleverly will appeal to a wide audience of rock music aficionados. This whole work is extremely well performed and produced, a smorgasbord of moods and tones, it comes very highly recommended.