Retreat From Moscow - Illusion Of Choice [CD]

The Illusion of Choice is the third album by Retreat From Moscow since they reformed in 2016 - having originally been active from 1979 to 1982. The core line-up of John Harris, Andrew Raymond, Tony Lewis and Greg Haver released their debut album The World As We Knew It in 2021, a record that was 40-years in the making, followed by their sophomore album Dreams, Myths and Machines in 2023. The Illusion of Choice is released on a new label for the band, Robert Reed's White Knight Records. The album features special guest appearances by Christina Booth of Magenta as the voice of the harp on Bones Will Sing, and American vocalist Jillian Slade on the song Polina. Recorder player Les Penning, famous for his work with Mike Oldfield, guests on Earth-Stepper, Penning also produced the first Retreat From Moscow recordings in back in 1978. Having been unable to work collectively on the Dreams, Myths and Machines album due to the pandemic, the band made a conscious decision to spend time together on The Illusion of Choice, with writing sessions starting with a week of experimentation in a Cardiff rehearsal room, a method often used in the early days of the band. This led to a collection of longer songs, often touching on darker subjects reflecting the current state of the world. For a band named after a famous conflict, Napolean's Retreat from Moscow in 1812, the subject of the current 'special operation' in Ukraine is examined in the songs Polina and Snowfall Road. The album also draws on themes of Anglo-Saxon mythology, behavioural manipulation and the story of bass player Tony Lewis's near-death experience as a teenager on Navigators of the Trym.