Review – Frant1c – A Brand New World – by John Wenlock-Smith

This new album is a little unusual, it’s history is a complex one but it is ultimately something of a triumph. Coming, as it does, following a set of significant lifestyle changes for one of its key architects, Anne-Claire Rallo. In the wake of her partner Eric Bouillette’s sad death from Pancreatic Cancer in 2022, Anne-Claire has forged a new life in musical PR with Bad Dog Promotions, who are going from strength to strength.

Eric actually contributed to this release and it is his final appearance on any album and here he offers guitar, keyboards piano and also aided in the arrangements. The album also includes contributions from Alexandre Lamia (Nine Skies), Martin Wilson (The Room), Johnny Marter (nine skies) and Helen Tiron (Sun Q). This album also benefits from the mixing and mastering skills of John Mitchell.

The album is most definitely a labour of love for Anne-Claire and is possibly cathartic for the tough time she has been through in the aftermath of Eric’s death. The record is concerned with the tale of Charlie and Hope, who have spent their lives together until a day when Charlie wakes up alone in a world that has changed completely. Charlie goes in search of Hope and this journey takes him to new discoveries and encounters whilst he searches for his love.

The album is truly symphonic in nature and I have to say it sounds really great too. It begins with Prologue (The Awakening), a brief spoken introduction and shimmering sound effects before a piano is heard playing a somewhat plaintive melody which is joined with a moving violin part. As an opener it sets the scene wonderfully for what is to follow. Come Back To Earth features the excellent, clear and strong vocals of Martin Wilson, who is on excellent form here. His voice is powerful and emotionally charged, he sounds like a Marillion era Fish on this track. People In Their Cages features clips of old radio shows and talks of our reliance on the media to both inform and also to entertain us, as we are unable to think for ourselves, referring to us to being a zombie nation. Where Have You Been? is a wistful song of loss and longing. It has some great guitar lines that works really well and the vocals are again excellent.

The album’s longest track, The Ballad Of Peggy Pratt, is a song about a lost person, this time a woman, who lives in her past looking back to her better days. The track opens with a piano setting a downbeat tone before it builds with very evocative vocals from Martin that really sets the scene of faded glory and to present disillusionment. The song has several sections to it, including a stellar instrumental section with lots of riffing guitar tracks. This fades to moody piano motifs before an epic guitar solo really adds elegance to the proceedings. Sweet Confusion is a duet between the characters of Charlie (Martin) and Hope (Helen) in which they speak of the confusion that sounds and separates them emotionally. It also shows the longing for reconciliation and healing between them emerging. On The Run opens with keyboards and synth effects and concerns a world of crazy people running around. The song has a good melody and features Martin’s The Room colleague Steve Anderson on guitar who adds real flamboyance and flair to this excellent track. It is one of the album’s finest to these ears and shows great performances from all parties involved. Take A Little Time (The Encounter) addresses the gulf between the friends and their desire to draw closer once again, in spite of the obstacles that lie in their paths. A New Path is the album’s penultimate track and offers a glimpse of a way forward and back to normalcy. This has a heavier tone that works well for it, the song also has more atmospheric sounds and great guitar flourishes adorn the track. Epilogue (A Brand New World) concludes the album with delicate piano lines and a spoken vocal from Anne-Claire adds to the excitement of the track, there isn’t a vocal per-se as the spoken world tells the tale. There is also the return of the spoken voice part from the opening track, again this works well in telling us to Wake Up several times before the album ends.

A Brand New World’ is an interesting tale but you will need to listen carefully to really understand it. What is without question is that this is a most ambitious album and one that really works on the whole. It is definitely worth listening to and deciding for yourself, musically it is excellent as are the vocalists who really shine on these wonderful songs.

Released 27th September, 2024.

Order from bandcamp here:

https://frant1c.bandcamp.com/album/a-brand-new-world

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