Steven Wilson
The Harmony Codex

We probably haven’t fully recovered from the excitement caused by the unexpected new album from Porcupine Tree, which was released as a surprise last year, followed by a tour that has even turned into a new live release. But we have to move on and accept that the future of Porcupine remains uncertain and that Steven Wilson's priority will always be his solo career. Therefore, the immediate return to publishing under his own name is not surprising; it was indeed entirely predictable. However, he faced an audience filled with various individuals doubtful about the actual merit of the new material's direction, with many not particularly appreciating the decidedly pop path taken in the last two albums (especially, and more sensationally, the last one). Personally, I don’t understand them, because Wilson certainly hasn’t stooped to the trendy Spotify garbage that’s been rampant for years. When he does pop, he always does it with his obsessive attention to detail and choice of arrangements. Is it the usual prog snobbery?

I don’t know, I don’t care, it doesn’t matter, but if one is really unwilling to open up to lighter things, the average snob can console themselves: the direction changes here; it’s not that of a pop album (even if the light spirit surfaces here and there), and longer tracks are more frequent. It’s difficult, however, to determine if it’s a return to prog or not; it certainly doesn’t sound like “Grace for Drowning” or “The Raven That Refused to Sing”. What might still raise some eyebrows is the choice, consistent with the previous work, to focus predominantly on electronics and synthesizers. Wilson has not hidden that he finds himself, at this stage of his career, more comfortable and inspired when composing with electronic instruments than with a more classic setup; this aspect also divides the audience, between those who appreciate the potential offered by electronic instrumentation and the purists who see it as an impurity, always calling for the good old guitars (think of 80’s Rush or Muse). However, these electronic solutions are not left alone and are well integrated with more traditional instrumentation. By reading the credits, one identifies a highly varied instrumentation, largely played by Wilson himself but also by numerous collaborators. Initially, anyone might have thought of a return to slightly older things; Steven has been clever and skillful in making it seem so: the tracks released in advance as promotional singles were the most guitar-driven ones, and they were concentrated in the early part of the tracklist so that the album reveals its true nature in the second part.

Although there aren’t many stylistic coordinates, the variety of solutions adopted is truly remarkable, thanks in part to the already mentioned vastness of the instrumentation. Each track is thoroughly and comprehensively filled, whether the minutes are many or few, each leaves a significant sense of fullness and satisfaction. The impression is of never encountering déjà vu, neither regarding a single passage nor the setup of an individual track. Every piece is genuinely different from all the others, which is why a track-by-track analysis is needed, whether one likes it or not.

“Inclination” hits with its artificial and heavy industrial-style beat, overwhelmed by an incredible overlay of sounds, noises, reverberations, and splashes of various nature, something that is midway between the anguishing, psychedelic, and ethereal, undoubtedly one of the most daring and successful episodes. "What Life Brings" is, instead, the pop track of the album, fresh and light, the kind that relaxes with its simple and essential melody, the kind Steven would ideally do with Blackfield, what could be seen as a misstep but never disappoints because we know Wilson is also this, and we like it that way. "Economies of Scale" is minimalist electropop aiming to sound modern but not flashy, entirely relying on its soothing electronic beat and its lulling and hypnotic loop. The fourth track brings a real strength, “Impossible Tightrope”, which is a bit of a safe harbor, the one that most brings back the old albums and seems written to guarantee wide consensus among purists; it's a prog-rock/jazz-rock with a relentless rhythm but at the same time characterized by a celestial and paradisiacal melody, it seems just like a vortex that lifts you up; the frenetic drumming, restless guitars, massive bass, even sax and electric piano escapes, but also some angelic choirs and a bit of strings to ease the tension. "Rock Bottom" is based on a rather alternative rock with Ninet Tayeb’s scratchy voice and guitar reverberations creating a vaguely shoegaze atmosphere. "Beautiful Scarecrow" offers dark and haunting electronics but full of sounds, with Nick Beggs' heavy Chapman Stick making the atmosphere even more unsettling. The title track has the merit of being repetitive without tiring, based on a repeated synthesizer loop creating a grey and foggy atmosphere. "Time is Running Out" is the one I like the least of the batch but is largely reassessable over time, as it easily transitions from being melancholic to being brilliant, from agile but reflective piano to almost sugary synth-pop suspended between modern and 80s. “Actual Brutal Facts” is perhaps the most surprising track, offering an unusual trip-hop: the artificial and regular beat, the dark sounds, the guttural rap-like singing, the abrasive noises in the final part, it could have come out of “Mezzanine” and we wouldn’t notice (in a recent social video Wilson showed this album as a listening recommendation, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence). The closing “Staircase” is the perfect summation of it all, a 9-minute journey where electronic play and its different facets shine, with guitar touches nicely accompanying the synths and once again Nick Beggs with his thundering Chapman Stick.

I admit that it wasn’t easy to classify and frame this work; I warn that several listens might be needed to catch the subtle nuances, as there are plenty, and they don’t reveal themselves immediately. The initial listens will essentially be a trial and might make it seem like a “normal” and not so varied album, although the truth is that the potential is apparent right away, it’s just a matter of focusing, analyzing properly, an album to be listened to with an “acoustic microscope”. However, once you complete the puzzle, it’s a masterpiece that forces you to concede and admit that Steven Wilson is still the most influential personality in the last thirty years of music. Someone might ask if I'm labeling it a masterpiece based on personal opinion or hearsay... When I see the masterpiece label being almost unanimously attached, I don’t know whether to trust it or not, I imagine many attributed it based on common or other people's opinions (although I don’t think that’s the case with this album), but despite the initial doubts, after a long analysis, I comfortably feel that, among what I’ve listened to this year, no one has managed to create a better puzzle than Wilson.