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I haven't known this Wilson for long, nor have I been actively seeking out new progressive rock for a while. It's all been done already...prog rock, I mean. Two months ago, I stumbled upon it by chance, finding it among the top 5 in the all-time best prog albums lists, jostling with Close to The Edge and 2112. I'm talking about The Raven Refused to Sing. And who the hell are you?
So, dear Steven, after some YouTube-ing and Spotify-ing, I found the date...it even rhymes, of your current tour in Gardone Riviera at the Vittoriale on July 12th. It was better to encounter you as an almost complete ignoramus; I didn't know 70% of the tracks, but two and a half hours flew by...it's not like me, but I gave you a standing ovation at the end. Dear fifty-something nerd...you've got skills. We're talking about a well-rounded concept (something that hasn't happened with this level of quality, I believe, since the days of The Banda della Magliana), with a great coherence in the narrative-musical path that puts recent prog dinosaur works to shame. They sometimes clumsily didn't realize it was time to stop. Wilson...however, you have an advantage. But I don't blame you; on the contrary.
You can pull off solutions that sometimes verge on ethical plagiarism. Invasion Regret is an "homage" to the genre if we want to put it that way, but also a nice medley of The Battle of Epping Forest, La Villa Strangiato, 2112, The Yes Album, etc. It's beautiful; I never get tired of listening to it precisely because of this. The arrangements are deliberately almost retro, but carried by an unusual melodic freshness that makes this Wilson...a genius. We also find some good early indie, which intermingles without you noticing with syncopated rhythms and imperious prog gallops. All of this is delivered by top-notch musicians, of course. A supergroup. It could easily be called the Steven Wilson Project. And I am inevitably reminded of the other Project in Eye in the Sky, with a similar "sound engineer auteur" combination.
The arrangements are also majestic; you can feel a climax of high craftsmanship. Sounds are chiseled and interlocked like inlays on a Renaissance wood decor. There are some lengthiness elements, in my view, typically Wilsonian, like Routine, which somewhat certifies itself in the title. But this piece also follows a path that now, with new tracks, we're no longer accustomed to. It's a listening album; it takes your time, and if you don't give it that, you do it a great disservice. Steven gives me this impression; he doesn't like to be outdone...he's in a state of grace. As long as it lasts...so be it.
Great work, indeed.
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