What does it sound like?:
I can’t really comment on the sound quality as I’ve been living with this as a 192k stream for the last couple of weeks but I’ve got the Blu-ray coming soon and I can’t wait to hear it in full quality and especially the Atmos mix which should be fantastic.
What does it all *mean*?
Or…Steven Wilson in return to form shocker
Which would be an unfair sub-headline as he never really lost “form” but if, like me you were hankering after a return to the spirit, musically if nothing else of “The Raven…” and “Hand. Cannot. Erase” then you are not going to be disappointed by this album.
Any artist who specifically wants to push his own boundaries isn’t going to please all the people all of the time and there’s nothing wrong with the last two albums per se but I don’t go back to “To The Bone” ever and after an initial flurry, I think “The Future Bites” is patchy. Wilson himself has said that TTB was an homage to ’80s art pop and TFB was his streamlined electronic pop record. Wilson is proud of every album being different in style and I suppose if you’re going to work like that it’s inevitable that there will be misses as well as hits. You can’t please all the people…etc
So The Harmony Codex arrives after, arguably, a couple of underperforming albums by his own high standards and if this was his next album after H.C.E. then I think we’d all be talking about how he’s continued along a path set up by that and The Raven…
This album is a return to a more conceptual, experimental style and it’s all the better for it. Having said that, though, without some of the work on TFB, this album probably wouldn’t have appeared in this form. The modular synths and programming are still evident but they are used to build structures often a long way from the more traditional song structures of the last album.
There is a concept running through this. Based on his own surreal short story of the same name, it seems to boil down to how, no matter what you think of your own place in the world and in your own life, good, bad, indifferent, it’s the journey that matters as the destination is the same for everyone. This does lead the album into some dark places lyrically at times, with some music to match, but it’s ultimately uplifting (unless, presumably, you do believe in there being some different destination for all of us, or just yourself!). The album closes with “Staircase” and it feels like a never-ending one. The moral of the story is, I think, that YOU decide whether you can step off the staircase sometimes. Life is short – find a way to enjoy it.
Musically, Wilson produces a great range of styles within this context and the album isn’t so high concept that every track is exactly part of the story but they still relate to the central theme. Three of the tracks clock in above 9 minutes but there are a couple of “ballads” if anything as sonically interesting as Wilson’s work can ever be described as that. “What Life Brings”, just the second track in after the starter “Inclination” is a melodic gem and further in there’s “Rock Bottom” essentially a duet with its writer, long-time collaborator Ninet Tayeb. Her vocal is fantastic. Not that it’s straightforward, mind you and vocal treatments, primarily of Wilson’s voice are a feature of the album.
You may have already some across “Impossible Tightrope” as it was pre-released with an accompanying video. Your reaction to it may well sum up what you’re likely to think about the album as a whole. It’s nearly 11 minutes of prog, jazz and electronics and it’s great. The title track, another 10 minutes, give or take, is a beautiful ambient synth pattern that builds over its length with a spoken vocal by Wilson’s wife Rotem. The shorter tracks are no less remarkable, mind you. “Actual Brutal Facts” features a new vocalist (actually, it’s Wilson’s voice heavily treated) and some heavier guitar and bass work.
Then it’s the closer “Staircase” which brings the album to a conclusion, musically and conceptually. If you love a dirty, treated, bass solo (Afterword T-Shirt) and I do, this one is for you.
Goes well with…
Release Date:
29th September, 2023
Might suit people who like…
Previous Steven Wilson albums
Thanks for that, Ainsley. I more or less share your views on the last couple of albums, although I think TTB is better than TFB (your description of the latter as ‘patchy’ seems quite generous).
I’m really looking forward to buying the new one, so much so that I’m planning to go into an actual shop on Friday and hand over actual money (if they still take cash).
Actual shop, actual money – it’s Personal Shopper all over. He was right!
The Blu-ray arrived on Friday but today was the first opportunity to settle in, crank it up and have a good loud listen to the Atmos mix.
I have to say it is exceptional and enhances an already very good album. Highly recommended in whatever format you listen.
Just got the SW remixes of The Big Express to go now, which also arrived on Friday
By some freak of nature my copy arrived here in Singapore last Thursday (i.e a day before release) and thats after Burning Shed sent me a mail that they had shipped out on Monday (note that my copy of Big Express that was shipped on Tuesday last week still has yet to show).
On my initial couple of listens, I’m liking it very much and agree that the surround mix (only 5.1 in my case, not Atmos) is phenomenal.
Well, you’ve probably played it quite a few more times than I have (2 or 3 for me so far) but for me it’s another major disappointment after the disappointment of TFB. I liked TTB very much, especially some of the extra tracks that he perversely left off the main album. My favourites are The Raven and H.C.E. This is nothing like them. For me it’s not progressive rock, it’s all over the place stylistically. Where are the guitar solos? Where are the memorable tunes? Nothing has struck a chord with me so far. Hmph.
He droned on for ages whilst promoting the last album about being bored with the guitar but I still think that was a good 85% pose. Ninet is good on it. After one and a bit listens I’m inclined to agree but I generally follow Tigger’s Rule with albums I’m interested in and may well change my mind.
OK I’ll agree that What Life Brings has both a guitar solo and a memorable tune. Maybe it’s just me. I’ll have to get back to you.
It’s a nice song, but the tune was reminding me of something and I think I’ve finally got it. It’s Jealous Guy, isn’t it? Anyone else?
I was just about to steel myself to write a review but then realised I had missed the one already up from @Ainsley.
A big of the Wilson fan since since HCE (although not so much of Porcupine Tree). However of late started to find him a bit omnipresent; often overly serious and pompous about music and dare I say becoming a bit of a bore. Enjoyed both TTB and TFB when they came out but realised they didn’t sustain my interest – technically wonderful and inventive but not really connecting. So I approached the new one with a bit of trepidation although the pre-leased songs certainly piqued my interest.
Ive now been living with this one for a few weeks (took at least 3/4 plays before it ‘clicked’) and am playing it regularly so I’ll cut to the chase and declare it as his his best solo album to date (well maybe joint first with Hand ). It feels all of those later influences which started to come to the fore in the previous two – the increased use of programmed drums and sequenced keyboards – are now gelling alongside his legacy style. There’s also a growing maturity in his writing which probably reflects both his age and domestic situation. Much less bombast and more focus on widescreen arrangements which are now integrating ambient, soundtrack and even a bit of ECM style chamber jazz influences. I can also hear echoes of Roland Orzabal (one of his musical heroes) in his melodies and the overall downbeat mood of the lyrics has some similarities with the last TFF album ‘The Tipping Point’. The variety of music on display is fantastic – from 70s soft rock harmonies to wig out jazz to an almost Nils Frahm style electronic instrumental and even a James Bond wannabe theme in ‘Rock Bottom’. Only one disappointment (IMHO) – Beautiful Scarecrow but otherwise its all top notch – great songwriting ; beautiful arrangements; some staggering playing (notably Adam Holzman on ‘Impossible Tightrope’) and Wilson’s best ever singing.
Album of the Year? Quite possibly.