THE FUTURE BITES

It's a pretty good album, just not a progressive masterpiece. I still feel this is quite prog, but in the same way some of 80's Genesis albums were also mostly prog, just not the same stuff that has been made before by their creators.

The Future Bites has a strong Jamiroquai-esque + Pink Floyd elements in this record which, for me, it's really interesting since I enjoy a lot both bands. The PF influence shows especially in some chords progressions and the way the backvocals are used. (Eminent Sleaze, Man of the People and 12 Things I forgot) As for Jamiroquai, sonically, this is a lot similar to their last album Automaton, using of similar eletronic textures and lots of grooving.

On the negative side, 42 minutes feels too short for a Steven Wilson album. Some of these songs feels like they could have an extended solo or a longer instrumental section. I'm not asking for another 55 min rollercoaster, but the songs here are really good and most of them feels undeveloped, especially the first 3 ones.

Also, unfortunately, what we get is just a "guitar noise solo" in songs like Self and Personal Shopper. I love the way SW creates guitar solos, even if he's not a really skilled guitar player, but here his performance is really timid and more about textures and effects.

Anyway, it's far from my favorite SW album, but I find this to be a nice step up from his previous effort, To The Bone. Worst song for me goes for Follower, which is veery SW by the numbers. My favorite currently is Man of the People.