THE OVERVIEW

Not too long ago, I reviewed Steven Wilson's then latest release, "The Harmony Codex". In that review I mentioned that this release was forthcoming, and here it is. "The Overview" was released on March 14, 2025, thus making it one week old as I type this (a little older by the time this gets posted). Anything Mr. Wilson releases has a tendency to get a lot of notice right away in the prog-fan community, and this is no exception. This album seems to be a "love it or hate it" release. We shall see what I think shortly. The album is split between 2 "sidelongs", with the first being 23:19 and the second being 18:21. In the version I have from Apple Music, the tracks are repeated with the different sections in separate tracks. In a newly published interview in Guitar Player Magazine, Wilson describes the album thusly:

[Interviewer] It's billed as two pieces, but the album really feels like a singular experience.

[Wilson] It's two different sides of the same coin. The first side of the album is really about the human side of it, and the second side is more about the science. And even then, it's not as simple as that, because there's little bit of each in both. I think that's the way I kind of rationalize these two separate pieces of music to be. The second half is more about the science and the sheer magnitude of space, and the first is about the human race and its relationship to it.

The musician line-up is:

- Steven Wilson / vocals, guitars, keyboards, sampler, bass, percussion, programming

With: - Adam Holzman / keyboards - Randy McStine / guitars - Craig Blundell / drums

So, without further ado, here are my first impressions as I give it a "cold listen."

Track 1 - Objects Outlive Us

The "movements" are as follows:

- No Monkey's Paw - The Buddha of the Modern Age - Objects: Meanwhile - The Cicerones - Ark - Cosmic Sons of Toil - No Ghost on the Moor - Heat Death of the Universe

The piece begins with Wilson singing a high note with minimal synth accompaniment. He sings in harmony starting around the 30 second point. Bass and more keys join in just before the one-minute point. The music is unfolding slowly, with lots of space between phrases. A piano part begins to establish some rhythm before the 2-minute point, and then Blundell taps a ride cymbal on the beat. Over the next minute, the song builds in intensity. I am getting Pink Floyd-" Interstellar Overdrive" vibes between the 3-minute mark and 4:15; very cool. I like the musical textures that follow. We are in 6-8 after 5 minutes. I like the instrumental textures in the section after 6 minutes. I am listening on fairly decent speakers now but betting it would sound spectacular in headphones. At around 7:15 there is a possible David Bowie reference when he sings "While he wondered, 'Is there life on Mars?'" I love the fuzz bass at around the 8-minute mark. Then Blundell joins with an AWESOME drum groove. This becomes a prog- tastic instrumental break! I am really enjoying this track! Another vocal section begins following that at a softer dynamic level. Then at 10:15 the level increases for an ascending melody. Excellent use of dynamic levels, Mr. Wilson (yep, I can't hide my music teacher thought process!). A more mellow section follows this with some odd meter shifts. I am picking up a return of a musical theme from earlier, but with variations from 11:30 or so. Great dynamic changes again at 13:30. The music gets "heavier" around 14 minutes. Excellent piano around 14:25. More prog coolness ensues at around 14:45. Not sure if the following guitar solo is Wilson or McStine, but it's wonderful! The piano motif returns, joined by the entire band. Great bass at 16:20, followed by a cool guitar riff. Great playing leading up to a pause in activity at 17 minutes. After that the music gets a "floating-through-space" vibe. Wilson sings some nice falsetto lines here. By 19 minutes in, a subtle rhythm has returned. A quiet guitar solo joins in following that. I have not been focused on the different sections here, preferring to listen as a whole. Wonderful guitar playing as we approach the 22-minute point. A disturbing tone brings the piece to a resolution. I absolutely LOVED that! So far, I know which side of the "Love it or hate it" debate I fall on!

Track 2- The Overview

A bit of "static" starts the second track. A rhythmic sequenced synth part follows, joined by some electronic percussion sounds. A spoken word part joins in describing the sizes of various identified stars and nebulas. So far this one has more of an "electronic music" vibe. He eventually begins mentioning galaxies as we proceed. The sounds fade out at around 4:15. More peaceful, floaty type sounds follow that. At 4:44 the band kicks in with a moderate tempo 4-4 beat. Wilson begins singing at around 5:15. This has a strummed acoustic with the keys and rhythm section, along with clean electric flourishes. He returns to falsetto at around 6:25 for a couple of lines. A guitar solo follows. This one is kinda mellow so far, but I like it. The rhythm section and guitars drop out around 7:45 and piano and sound effects accompany the vocals. A very short, but impressive a cappella harmony section leads the band back in in a bigger way than they had been previously at around 8:45. If the Beatles had continued into the modern day, it might sound like this. Superb harmony vocals, as we have come to expect from Wilson in Porcupine Tree and other projects hit at around 9:20. At 9:45 Holzman gives us a very Rick Wright (the late-great keyboardist from Pink Floyd) keyboard-tone feature, but only for about 15 seconds. At 10:00 the music drops back out for spacy sounds. By 11 minutes, the band has a cool rhythm going with more stats about the size of objects in space being described. The harmony vocals recapitulate some of the themes from track 1. Fantastic guitar sounds take over at around 12:15. At 13:00, we have handclap sounds with another cool rhythm happening. I like it! The Wright style keyboards get a longer feature after that. Nice sounds at 14 minutes! This is GREAT PROG! I don't know what the ones who didn't like this were listening to, because it couldn't have been this! The music fades and more stats are read. By 15 minutes a mellow keyboard takes over. It is spacy here as well, but the album is ABOUT SPACE! (lol) These sounds seem to be taking us to the close of the track for the last minute and a half. GREAT TRACK!!

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

So, first I will start with an admission. I was dreading this one a bit, after seeing so many negative takes on this album, and the disappointment I felt over "The Harmony Codex" in my review in January. However, to quote my earlier self: "Maybe 'The Overview,' will be more what I am looking for. The early info shows that he recorded it with only Randy McStine (Guitars), Adam Holzman (Keys) and Craig Blundell (Drums) along with him, so it seems more like a rock band effort." And indeed, it was! Sure, there were a few segments here and there that were a bit slow moving, but it fits in with the concept of the album. This album belongs alongside Wilson's best solo-efforts as well as the best Porcupine Tree albums. The harmonies in the middle of the title track reminded me of PT classics like "Waiting," "Lips of Ashes," and "Lazarus." While it maybe isn't quite as good as "The Raven That Refused to Sing," (which I gave 5 stars) it's very close. I gave "The Harmony Codex" 3.75 out of 5, as it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. This one gets 4.75 out of 5 stars! It's great prog, and Wilson and crew really delivered.

Clicked 5 stars, but really 4.75...4 is too low.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to yarstruly
• Report this review (#3166932)
• Buy STEVEN WILSON music online with PA partners
• Show all STEVEN WILSON MP3/Stream
• Go to STEVEN WILSON page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Overview page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for STEVEN WILSON related discussions