THE HARMONY CODEX

I'm writing this review after maybe six listens and although I usualy give all Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree releases five stars, I can't give this any more than 4. As usual the production and overall sound quality are as expected from a man like SW, but the tracks, I don't know, it's just not Hand.Cannot.Erase or To The Bone. The songwriting is okay, but not top notch. What Life Brings is a nice poppy song and I like Economies Of Scale and Actual Brutal Facts a lot, but the album's core track in terms of length, Impossible Tightrope, just doesn't do much for me. I bought the Blu-ray version, which gives a hires, a 5.1 and a Dolby Atmos mix and they sound awesome. If only the music was as good as it sounds. Still I can't give this release anything less than 4 stars, because it is Steven Wilson and I happen to adore the man and because I think even a lesser album by SW is still better than most of the crap we hear today on radio and Spotify. So again: thumbs up for Steven!