THE OVERVIEW

1. Objects Outlive Us (23:19) (25/25) I. No Monkeys Paw. Beautiful way to open the track, really pretty, it's like Floyd mixed with a bit of Harmony Codex and Future Bites. Gentle piece, nice intro.

II. The Buddha of the Modern Age. Some of my favourite vocal work Steven Wilson has ever put to record, that includes everything he did in Porcupine Tree. Gregorian chant-esque, mixing Pink Floyd and the intro of Revealing Science of God by Yes.

III. Objects: Meanwhile. Pure Floydian-Steven Wilson. The guitar playing, the keyboard sounds (maybe lacking in organs and rhodes but regardless), the atmosphere, even the Harmonies (which PF could never replicate). The verse is catchy, the chorus mixed Hand. Cannot. Erase. qualities and Floyd-esque mood, a little bit of complexity, and cool yet subtle use of Saxophone.

Also, Andy Partridge (XTC) having lyrical credits here is really cool.

IV. The Cicerones Nice little guitar part, feels like something off Deadwing or even Hand. Cannot. Erase again. Mellotrons to give that old prog feel to go directly into...

V. Ark. A vocal focused bit, almost polyrhythmic. Love the lyrical flow, love how Steven executes this part. Gorgeous, production holds up really well too. A bit of heaviness, a bit of beautiful harmonies... what's not to love?

VI. Cosmic Sons of Toil. A little space rock / jazz fusion focused prog in this bit. Steven has a way of phrasing guitar parts, sorta Floyd-esque but... it's also like Fripp-esque too. You get this Floydian Jazz bit with the Fripp like weirdness. Great part, love the angular nature, love the keyboards here.

VII. No Ghost on the Moor. Reprising 'No Monkeys Paw' Lyrics and 90% musically, just add some slow drums. Really nice way to tie the epic together. Once again, strong ties to HCE, TFB and THC.

VIII. Heat Death of the Universe Reprises the opening with even more emphasis on the Floydian (DSOTM or The Wall-esque) Space Rock elements and production. Beautiful way to close off this epic. Very Floydian, really spacey, awesome guitar solo. This ends so ominously too, spacey string section, creepy, fitting for the mood of the album. If you like Pink Floyd, this is the closest you will get in the 21st Century. Period.

2. The Overview (18:48) (19.5/20) I. Perspective. Trippy, Electronic Rock, a little bit of the Dark Side of the Moon and Sky Moves Sideways elements. Really cool, but this is the only part of the album I find overstays it's welcome. Creative though! Reminds of stuff he also did on his previous solo album 'The Harmony Codex', a little more Tangerine Dream influence. As much as it's not my favourite moment on the album, how much does this differ from the opening of Time on DSOTM? Plus, it's part of the concept and has cool keys....

II. A Beautiful Infinity I. Beatles-esque with the Classic Wilson Floydian touch. Reminds me a little bit of Porcupine Tree's 'Stupid Dream', cool space-oriented lyrics, Floydian Guitar slides (obviously reminiscent to David Gilmore), strong songwriting.

III. Borrowed Atoms. The closest thing you'll get to Pink Floyd harmonies in the 21st century. Period. It's 'The Great Gig in the Sky' musically and 'Goodbye Blue Sky' vocally in the 21st Century. Very pretty.

IV. A Beautiful Infinity II. We return to the Beatles-esque feel of A Beautiful Infinity, really beautiful like I said. Strong hints of the Psychedelia that inspired SW so much. Definitely something worth reprising. Slightly rough transition, but you may end up getting used to it (it's just a tad abrupt).

V. Infinity Meassured in Moments. Mixing the Tangerine Dream qualities, spoken word, into a more prog drumgroove. It's also weird how I can compare this to Dukes Travels in ways. We get some more great vocal work, followed by a truly electric Adam Holzman solo. The sequencers, the guitars, the sounds and fx, the drums, everything. Absolutely incredible. One of my favourite moments Steven has written in his career.

VI. Permanence. Richard Wright-esque chords, Saxophone, the mood, the way the keys sound... I love every moment. A little bit of Floyd, Jean-Luc Ponty, and just mood music. Some of the most serenely gorgeous 3 minutes ever put on a Steven Wilson record.

Total: (44.5/45) = 98.89% Grade : A+ Favourite Track: Objects Outlive Us Favourite Section: Infinity Meassured in Moments.

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So! The Overview... This is the Pink Floyd record that Pink Floyd never made. This is Animals meets Wish You Were Here, mixed with a little Tangerine Dream, Yes, Crimson, and some Jazz elements to keep you entertained.

Listen, if you are going into this thinking this is gonna be "The Raven That Refused to Sing" or "Grace for Drowning" or even "Hand. Cannot. Erase" you'll be disappointed. This is Steven's attempt at a Space Rock album and he made it clear that's what this album will be. 'Objects Outlive Us' is taking more from Floyd directly, more comparable to something like "The Sky Moves Sideways", a little bit of the classic Yes/Crimson influenced prog in there too. While the Title Track took from Psychedelic Rock like The Beatles, the 70s Floyd sound, and emphasis on the Harmony Codex "Tangerine Dream" qualities as well.

This is both an attempt to make a modern Floyd record, and recapturing a ton of Steven Wilson's career all on one disc. At a concise 41:44, this album doesn't waste your time... it just delivers exactly what's intended. My only real critiques are that a small few of moments feel cut and pasted together, like there wasn't enough time to write a proper transition (most notably A Beautiful Infinity II into Infinity Meassured in Moments), and how long 'Perspective' drones for.

Absolutely astounding record. The closest I've come to giving an album a 10/10 review so far.

PA Rating: 5 stars - Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.

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