I’m not familiar with This Winter Machine and Nova Cascade -- the two bands from which Ghost of the Machine materialized -- but I do know this much: The debut album from the Leeds, UK-based band is a brilliant slab of melodic progressive rock that reminds me of Marillion, Spock’s Beard and a more contemporary Peter Gabriel-era version of Genesis. Scissorgames also is a late addition to my “Best Albums of 2022” list.
The disc, according to the band’s Bandcamp page, “explores the tangled lines between love and abuse through seven epic songs. No matter how insurmountable a situation may seem, Hope’s promise can help us find the courage to make the hardest choices and cut the strings that bind us.” Hence, the album’s clever title.
“Scissors” opens the record with a bold 17-minute statement punctuated by the lead vocals of Charlie Bramald, who delivers his lines in a Gabriel-meets-Hogarth style that somehow seems wholly uncontrived. The tracks that follow -- including the propulsive “Mountain,” “Just For Reference” (a tender “fuck you” song that recalls Tears For Fears) and the soaring “January’s Child” (which even makes a “childhood’s end” reference) -- reaffirm that Ghost of the Machine is no illusion.
By merging thick riffs, delicate keyboards, insightful lyrics and majestic melodies on this tour de force of a debut, Ghost of the Machine establishes itself as one of the most promising new progressive-rock bands of 2022.
Track Listing:
1. Scissors
2. Mountain
3. Just for Reference
4. January’s Child
5. Mercury Rising (Parts I and II)
6. Dead To Me
7. Scissors (Reprise)
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