Booth, Dede: Age of a Century

It has been a while since I have thought about multi-instrumentalist Dede Booth, formerly of the gothic rock band Sententia. Low and behold, the artist is back with a new album titled Age of a Century, the follow-up to her 2023 release Parallels.

The music is very lush with layered textures informed by guitar and keyboards, led by Dede’s wispy and fragile vocals, very melodic and dreamy. The orchestral builds lend a postrock/orchestral approach and if I had do categorize this one I would say a sort of esoteric pop/post rock hybrid with progressive elements found throughout the album’s seven tracks. Dede has matured as an artist, at least from what I can recall of the last album I reviewed (The Expansion Effect - 2021). On this latest effort she enlisted the help of Tom MacLean, formerly of Haken. He is able to bring it all into focus, giving the album a dreamy aura, very textural and sonically vibrant. Booth has become an accomplished musician, originally a drummer and expanding her musical palette with guitars, bass, and keyboards.

“Lost But Not Forgotten Pt. II� begins the disc with a dreamy soundscape, a rich tapestry of sound, led by Booth’s ethereal and somewhat fragile lead vocals. Some nice orchestral builds develop and a deeply layered sound ensues. Her vocals are catchy and ideally suited for the song’s lush poppy approach, that is until it breaks into more progressive rhythms and interesting dynamics. With the title track Booth takes us into a near post rock soundscape, gently unfolding with its nifty drumming and catchy chorus. MacLean adds a wonderful guitar part, very ethereal and dynamic, the only bit of music not played by Booth on the entire album. Buzzing and wind effects inform the heavier “One Way to Return� where Booth’s vocals have a cavernous and echoey sound, again taking the listener into more progressive territory. “Lost But Not Forgotten Pt. I� is the disc’s longest track at over twelve minutes, more than enough time for the sound to gradually develop its densely layered textures, nice guitar work and clever instrumentation.

The disc ends with the gently cascading “Relics� featuring some of Booth’s nicest moments on guitar, particularly her melodic acoustic playing.

Age of a Century is a nice album from Booth, displaying fine craftsmanship and well played throughout. Those into the dreamier side of pop and progressive rock should find Age of a Century very welcoming indeed.

Track Listing:
1. Lost But Not Forgotten Pt. II (4:56)
2. Age of a Century (5:00)
3. One Way to Return (5:45)
4. Legacy (5:28)
5. Drown (8:49)
6. Lost But Not Forgotten Pt. I (12:19)
7. Relics (4:32)

Added: December 24th 2025
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist @ Bandcamp
Hits: 21
Language: english

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