Twisted Illusion - 'Nobody's Child' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. Nobody's Child

2. Hilton Street

3. There Is No Hero In This Tragedy

4. Discovery

Let me take you back about 8 years, to my first 3S&O review to provide a bit of back story for my review of this, Twisted Illusion’s final release “Nobody’s Child”.

When I began contributing to 3 Songs & Out my first “job” came based on my being a prog fan. I was given Twisted Illusion’s newest release “Insight to the Mind of a Million Faces” a double album to review. As it was my first task for the site it came with a certain degree of both intrigue and worry, I was worried about making a good impression but I was truly intrigued by the scale of the work I was being asked to review. That review is still on the site (there are things I would change had I the chance to repeat the process, but life is a learning curve) and was, for me, the first of many reviews for the site during my fairly busy first year and more as the years went by.

All that is to say I have a lot of experience in the musical world of Twisted Illusion and I’m aware of a lot of the history of the two older songs on this new EP, for instance I know as the press release says 'Nobody’s Child' was on Insight, and that Matt Jones (singer and guitarist, as well as primary songwriter) was never happy with that version, his self-imposed standards have always been incredibly high so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

However I also know that 'Nobody’s Child' the song goes back even further as it was on the first Twisted Illusion demo “Calm The Dark” (don’t look for it, Matt has hidden it from the world and better versions of all the songs on that rare disc have been re-recorded for later releases) so it truly is the song to bookend the band’s career, although I agree that definitively the version on this new EP is the one to listen to (note, I checked my own Twisted Illusion/Matt Jones discography and I personally have 11 versions of this one song, many of which are live performances, but there are 5 recorded non-live versions I’m aware of). Matt really has been trying for a long time to get this incredibly personal song recorded exactly as he wants it to be.

A mini-epic, clocking in at seven and a half minutes, it’s build-up is perfectly weighted and timed, the music breathes gently allowing the threads of Matt’s vocal melodies to intertwine with guitar melodies and Jess Lawton’s understated but beautiful keyboard work, this arrangement feels like the balance is absolutely right, during the main part of the song the lead guitar parts are never overwrought and the incredible vocal harmonies never dilute the power of Matt’s main lead vocal. The ending comes in the form of an intense series of powerful instrumental guitar interludes which allow the listener to imagine the cause of the vitriol behind the lyric before fading off.

'Hilton Street' is a new song to me, but apparently had it’s genesis in 2021 written by Matt and Zak Robinson who was the band’s third guitarist at that time. It’s lyrics seem to me to be looking back, as if over the career of the band, perhaps in an attempt to make some musical sense of the last 11 years of the band’s history.

'There Is No Hero In This Tragedy' sees Matt and Saxon Davids (guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and Matt’s main co-conspirator in Twisted Illusion) trading riffs and vocals, apparently this was an attempt to write one final song into the Twisted Illusion canon. A more buoyant affair this song works fantastically in place to show the band’s capacity to create almost pop music (although there is a lot more intricacy in the Twisted Illusion vision of pop music), its toe-tapping credentials are immediate (although some interestingly off-kilter timing shifts make toe-tapping more of a struggle). The song would not have felt out of place on “Excite The Light Part 2” which also showcased the band’s ability to channel the feeling of Toto’s music into the Twisted Illusion musical universe. It also works incredibly well as a lead in to the melancholy of what I consider the highlight of this EP.

'Discovery', the final track on this EP was also the final track on “Insight…” and I can see a good reason for this, the song is an almost perfect ending for any album/EP/career, at the risk of insulting Matt, I would say it’s Twisted Illusion’s 'Starless' (the last song on King Crimson’s 'Red' and their final live song before they finally stopped working entirely). The two are not exactly musically similar, although both are epic, 'Discovery' is epic in very different ways, but my point is that like 'Starless', it is the perfect song to act as a final sentence and full stop at the end of Twisted Illusion’s story. 'Discovery' starts quietly with some isolated guitar riffs almost buzzing around seeking a home, before the song itself begins, Matt’s impassioned vocal performance is compelling throughout with an emotive and dynamic guitar solo (I want to say this is Saxon, but I know Matt is an equally incredible guitarist and I don’t know for certain) before returning to the chorus and a final piano statement meandering alone as the guitar did at the beginning after the rest of the band drop out.

I had almost forgotten how great 'Discovery' and 'Nobody’s Child' are before sitting down to listen to this new release and write this very review, this EP is full of incredible performances from Matt, Saxon and Jess Lawton whose history with the group goes back some way, she contributes keyboards to 'Discovery' and 'Nobody’s Child' adding depth and character to these amazing songs, she also plays bass on 'Nobody’s Child'. I’m guessing I shouldn’t really wind Matt up by going off on a tangent trying to shoehorn references to Steven Wilson and his “return to prog” or BBC Breakfast into this review just for old-times’ sake (the bit comparing TI to King Crimson has probably already got him a bit annoyed), so I’ll conclude this review by carefully avoiding mentioning any bands named after a Talking Heads song and get on with the bit Matt probably loves most… the inevitable flattery and suggestion that people listen to his music and buy stuff from him, because his really is an incredible body of work.

'Nobody’s Child' clocks in just under 30 minutes but the inevitable re-listening value means you can relive this magnificent half an hour as often as you like (if you do buy it, that is). I once favourably compared Matt Jones to Steven Wilson and Devin Townsend and my opinion of his work as a songwriter and a performer has only improved since then, so I’m not sure where I can take that comparison at this stage, suffice it to say I will watch Matt & Saxon’s careers with interest, to see what happens next.

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Review - Mike McLaughlin