Review Summary: Hindered by their own ambition.
I’m going to break one of the fundamental unwritten rules of music reviews right now and start off with a bit of personal insight: I feel like I’ve heard it all; every style, every attempt at being ‘different’ and ‘original’ and trying to make music that is transcendent or life-affirming.
In reality, I haven’t scratched the surface of all the music out there and that’s what keeps me going – there must be something, somewhere that could potentially be my new favourite album of all time. However, none of my current favourites include albums that tried particularly hard to be groundbreaking, perhaps due to their honest, raw emotion and lack of pretension. As such, I have some issues with anything that tries too hard to invent a new style of music and this is where I feel The Great Game ultimately fall a bit short with their self-titled debut album.
Before dwelling on the negatives, I urge you to look at that score up there. This is a good album and it’s worth a listen for anyone into alternative or experimental styles of music. Fans of early Incubus or Faith No More/Mr Bungle could find much to like here, as will anyone who’s ever enjoyed a King Crimson or Tool album before. These guys have talent, there’s no denying that. There are some great songs here: opener “Science” immediately displays the band’s complete confidence and belief in their vision. They want to be the most original band ever and they’re going to mix in every style they can to try and achieve that. “Science” pulls it off pretty successfully, combining elements of alternative and progressive rock to create a weirdly catchy first song. Meanwhile, “Religionism” is a scathing attack against religion that utilises harsh vocals over reggae-style guitars and trumpet. Yes, you read that right.
However, after a while it becomes apparent that the music is secondary to the group’s goal of being as unique as possible. While this boldness is certainly nothing to be scoffed at (and the music stays interesting more often than not because of it), one cannot help but feel that it eventually takes away from the main focus - the songs themselves. The simple truth is that a song like “Bipolaroid”, which is predominantly hard rock-based, is going to have a broader appeal than the Latin American and Eastern European world music-based tracks. That’s not to say that there isn’t anything to like about “El Hechizo De Hoy”, for example, but it’s the kind of song that gets praised more for its distinctiveness than its substance. A track like “Poetry in Motion” shows the way forward – blending styles in a way that doesn’t feel gratuitous or excessive.
Ultimately, The Great Game have churned out an incredibly interesting debut album that unfortunately gets lost in its own ambition far too often. With the band containing members from across Europe, the Middle East and North and South America, it’s no wonder that such a myriad of styles are present in their music. However, as songs such as “Science” and “Poetry in Motion” prove, a little more direction is necessary and it will be interesting to see how the band improve on this release with their next effort.
