THE OVERVIEW

Steven WILSON, one of the prog benchmarks; a patchwork, conceptual album bringing together two musical overlays to escape this dark world through his unique musical universe. A title about the effect of seeing Earth from above.

"Objects Outlive Us: No Monkey's Paw" with a cappella falsetto vocals addressing the extraterrestrial, coming from limbo, captivating latency worthy of POPOL VUH, a cosmic air to put us in the space mood, with ENO and REICH in the background. "The Buddha of the Modern Age" with lyrics by Andy of XTC, a pop gem about the problem of screens. "Objects: Meanwhile" central theme: life and its deceptions, imploding black holes. A romantic-dramatic mid-tempo ballad with a strong bass variation, a feel of "The Sky Moves Sideways" and the psychedelic-prog-post-rock madness that rises like an endless wave with keyboards favoring memories on ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA. A nervous, invasive finale reminiscent of "The Harmony Codex". "The Cicerones/Ark" acoustic arpeggio with its organ jelly, musical time seeming to stop on this metronomic vocal mantra that swells, swells like in the good old days of HAWKWIND. The heavy prog sound of the future with hints of his previous works. "Cosmic Sons of Toil" introduces a synth from TANGERINE DREAM, an energetic, tormented guitar taking the place of the keyboard. Unstructured, hypnagogic sound, modern notes and the outline of the heavy metal finale. "No Ghost on the Moor/Heat Death of the Universe" has the soaring atmosphere of the 95s, "The Sky" again features Craig's signature drums on the phrasing vocals, Randy's guitar connecting with the previous track. A surprising guitar solo with a final sound reminiscent of a ship's noise.

"The Overview: Perspective" builds on the foundations of the last track, "The Harmony Codex," with Rotem's voice rattling off sequences of numbers, like the TALKING HEADS, with a rudimentary TANGERINE DREAM-esque soaring synth, an amplified atmospheric ambiance. A metronomic, repetitive, tinkering space lacking soul. "A Beautiful Infinity/Borrowed Atoms" has the slow melody of PINK FLOYD, like "Wish You Were Here," a languid, reverberating air reminiscent of disco in the distance, and closer "Stupid Dream," even "The Future Bites." Randy brings his touch with a tortured solo that restores order; Beatlesian overtones, piano arpeggios and distant beats, helicopter blades. The chorus's languid ending is predictable, lacking spark. "A Beautiful Infinity II/Infinity Measured in Moments" returns to the stratosphere with robotic female phrasing and BOWIE-esque funky rock keyboard drops. The atmospheric choir fills the ears, flooding with its fluid melody of OLFIELD, electro, and then another tortured guitar solo flirting with the keyboard. Crystalline arpeggios, musical water drops, and the muffled sound launch "Permanence" into a codice-like harmonic finale, sax in the distance, as in "Le grand Bleu." Adam's languid jazzy air invites us to float in space and see from above, a clear nod to the melodies of VANGELIS. Steve Wilson has projected his album with Miles Skarin-esque views, for an immersive audio on the phenomenon of the visual sensation of space. It is a return to progressive and expansive music, an opus for traveling in endless prog space. An excellent album for those who do not know his work, very good for those who like prog and good for those who know the work well, delivering here a tactical best of his discography. (3.5). (4.5 in atmospherics for musical pleasure, WILSON is avant-garde anyway.) Originally on Progcensor.

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