There was a time when the announcement of a new Steven Wilson album would have had me drooling in anticipation. Let’s face it, he has produced two of the best Prog albums ever made. The Raven That Refused To Sing and Hand Cannot Erase are masterpieces of the art. Raven was an album in the classic Prog mode, played with superb musicians and beautifully crafted songs. HCE has to be the ultimate concept album, what an amazing musical journey. To The Bone had its moments, I initially got The Future Bites with is electro pop leanings but I can honestly say I don’t play it at all, and I have grown to dislike Harmony Codex. So, when I read the advance comments of how he had returned to a more proggy outlook with the Overview and it contained only two tracks, my interest was piqued.
I’m reviewing this after listening to it many times and I have to say, sonically it is outstanding and the only way to hear this is in surround sound as it was created to be heard this way for maximum effect. There are references from the past that you will pick up on. The vocal harmonies remind me of early Yes, King Crimson, Floyd, and Tangerine Dream.
I love the way SW puts climbing highs into his music where the musical journey lifts and drops you all leading to a crescendo, but there is none of that here I’m afraid. Sure, there are loud bits that differ from the quiet bits but it’s seemingly all on one level, if that makes sense.
The Wilson acolytes are drooling all over this without being subjective. Yes, it sounds incredible, but sounding incredible and being a great piece of music are two different things. It’s better than the previous two for sure, but it’s nowhere near the first five. For a point of reference, I have been a fan since Porcupine Tree’s Sygnify and have seen him many times, and I guess there comes a time when you just don’t connect anymore.
7.5/10 from The Grooveman.
