Steven Wilson
The Harmony Codex

Alright then, let's listen to Steven Wilson's new album. I approached it like this, without much enthusiasm, being personally fully satisfied with "Closure/Continuation" by Porcupine Tree, released a year and a half ago. I wasn't even intrigued by "Economies of Scale," the first single released, which both in theme and in sound and style seemed to me to be in line with the not-so-exciting "The Future Bites." So I ignored the subsequent singles, assuming they were made of the same "plasticity" as what is certainly not the solo Porcupine's best album.

I was wrong.

"The Harmony Codex" is a great album. One of the peaks of his career. Everything revolves around the double meaning of the title: Codex could be interpreted as "ancient manuscript" or as the plural of "codec," i.e., what in computing decodes a digital signal. This coexistence between ancient and contemporary and the juxtaposition between harmony and disharmony is the musical thread that unites all ten tracks of the album, each of which could be classified in a different musical genre. The ancient Code of Harmony or the digital coding of Harmony? Harmony or disharmony?

There is no answer; everything comes together magically and masterfully, thanks to Wilson's brilliant alchemy, who invents nothing, creates nothing, but transforms everything into something amazing.

The album opens with the anxious yet dreamy "Inclination," built on a nervous drum machine with a martial pace that contrasts with the vocal melodic line. Harmony that goes hand in hand with Disharmony. A beautiful and very interesting piece.

It continues with "What Life Brings," and from the first notes, it feels like returning to "Stupid Dream" of Porcupine memory. Finally, Wilson is heard on the electric guitar again with a fine solo. Melody and harmony. The Ancient Manuscript.

Which is immediately abandoned with "Economies of Scale," a sampled loop sets the background for a track dominated by electronics. A track which, in the context of the album, has its own why, which a single did not have. The Codec.

Contrast is the underlying theme of the predominantly instrumental "Impossible Tightrope." An almost eleven-minute suite. A dystonic treasure chest containing a magnificent acoustic guitar solo, a solo by Theo Travis on saxophone that evokes past Porcupines, and a hysterical solo by Holzman on electric piano complete an astonishing piece that sways from prog to jazz (the manuscript) to return to electronic (the codec).

"Rock Bottom" is a Manuscript of musical perfection that borders on Floydian territory with a Gilmour-esque solo. Not a shadow of a codec. A wonderful track.

"Beautiful Scarecrow" returns to the present. A disturbed and dark present. Even if the title is an oxymoron, the tone of the piece is consistent with the text between disappointed and angry. A beautiful codec.

And here's the title track, "The Harmony Codex," which deceives us into believing it might unravel the enigma. It's a repetitive track built on an electronic loop, whose sounds have (not so vague) reminiscences of old 80s video games. There is no vocal melody since the text is recited by a narrating voice. Could this be the future of music? In codecs?

"Time is Running Out" does not answer the question because the Manuscript and Codecs seem to coexist in harmony. An acoustic piano intro is immediately accompanied by electronic loops and processed voices. Nice electric guitar solo on a bluesy pentatonic scale, with a warm jazzy tone.

"Actual Brutal Facts," with its dark acoustic guitar riff, is a return to the Manuscript, with evocations of "Fear of a Blank Planet." Appreciable is the psychedelic electric guitar solo (which I attribute to Wilson himself) perfectly in theme with the mood and refrain of the piece: "and when you turn shit into gold, it isn't even appreciated."

The album closes with the wonderful "Staircase," a musical "summa" of everything Wilson has done throughout his prolific career. There's everything: the melody, the harmony, the played instruments (nice guitar solo by Niko Tsonev), the sampled ones. There's rock breaking in with an unusual bass solo (played, I believe, by Steven Wilson himself). Everything closes with a celestial harmony made of ambient sounds, while the rhythm fades into thunderous rain, with the same narrating voice reading the same passage from "The Harmony Codex," but here the song's mood gives the text a different, almost ethereal, metaphysical tone. Goosebumps.

The Manuscript or the codec. It's up to the listener to choose.

Almost a masterpiece.