Steven Wilson - The Future Bites out today

Having spun this album several times.....This is hardly a pop album, maybe in Steven's mind in that he wants to harken back to ABBA, XTC, Tears For Fears. There might be one song that I could imagine being played on the FM radio, where we might say a pop song would gain popularity.

Cristi wrote: Logan wrote: I have yet to hear this album beyond material that was released before. I am hardly only interested in Prog, and not being a Steven Wilson fan, I wouldn't judge it against his other works. it's more or less an art-pop album, you might like it.

Haha, I was just looking at the "Top 3 albums per genre that's not prog" and wondering which three "art pop" albums I should choose? And literally just now looking through a list of top art pop albums (various of which are deemed Prog or Prog Related by this site's standards).

EDIT: Listening to KING GHOST now and I am enjoying it. It's very true, I do like loads of art pop and progressive pop (much of which crosses over into art rock and progressive rock). I liked what I've heard of The Raven that Refused to Sing, but I still haven't listened to a lot of his music.

Edited by Logan - February 12 2021 at 16:39

Zeph wrote: The album has grown on me. I think it helped to try to ignore it’s relation to his previous works and listen without prog ears...

With some albums I have thought, how would I or others react to the music if they had no idea who made it? So in this case, not just turning off those Prog ears, but forgetting or not caring about who made it. Would you be hard on it if it was some unknown who came out with this music? Or would it be something that you would even bother with if it came from some unknown and give it a second spin (assuming you had received access to it).

I have yet to hear this album beyond material that was released before. I am hardly only interested in Prog, and not being a Steven Wilson fan, I wouldn't judge it against his other works.

Edited by Logan - February 12 2021 at 15:53

The album has grown on me. I think it helped to try to ignore it’s relation to his previous works and listen without prog ears. It feels more rooted than To The Bone, which I felt went a bit in every direction and not really rooted anywhere. It’s got some great tracks, but the complete album is not quite there.

TFB is more complete and focused on his new sound. Of all the tracks, 12 Things I Forgot is my least favorite. It’s somewhat boring and easily confused with contemporary pop on the radio. The rest is a nice mix of sounds. I also like the 42 minute runtime.

First spin......This is pretty good. Impeccable sound quality, the synth bass shakes my bones. We'll see if future spins makes this album bite! 

dougmcauliffe wrote: There's an unreal amount of great pop of course, but some from the last 5 years off the top of my head: (Not all of these are strictly pop, but it is def a key genre in the overall sound) Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters Radiohead - Moon Shaped Pool Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising MGMT - Little Dark Age Lana Del Ray - Norman f**king Rockwell! Currents - Tame Impala The Weeknd - After Hours King Gizzard - Paper Mache Dream Balloon  Gorillaz - Song Machine and yes, those two Taylor Swift albums

King of Loss wrote: Cristi wrote: King of Loss wrote: Cristi wrote: King of Loss wrote: Cristi wrote: King of Loss wrote: No offense, there's way better pop out there. like what?  It will take a long time to list that, but even the newest two Taylor Swift albums are better than the newest Steven Wilson album. god no...  I used to one of those close-minded people until I branched beyond progressive rock and progressive metal. There's lots of good music out there and the newest two Taylor Swift albums are actually pretty good. Aaron from the National co-wrote those songs and he is an excellent songwriter. I used to think Taylor Swift was utter trash and the two newest albums have convinced me otherwise. I think while she is not a fantastic musician, her newest two records are at least decent. Why would Steven Wilson cover her latest song from Folklore?  I do not listen exclusively to prog (rock and metal) and I listen to all sorts of music, but I will never be able to enjoy some one like Swift. And I tried a little bit. Plus you hear her music without ever wanting to as well.  Then try her two newest records if you are truly open-minded. It is way different than anything she has released.

I just listened to this song, and it is easily better than anything on the new album.  

Cristi wrote: Lewian wrote: Cristi wrote: King of Loss wrote: No offense, there's way better pop out there. like what?  Everything Everything? aren't they more alternative rock than pop?

Edited by Lewian - February 02 2021 at 04:35

King of Loss wrote: Catcher10 wrote: It can be tough to talk pop music on this site, it for sure is not in the normal DNA of a hardline prog music fan. The Taylor Swift cover is fine, he likes the song the beat the structure I'm sure and the topic obviously, so I can't judge him or find any reason to fault him for covering one of the most popular singers of the past 10yrs. Going deeper, it makes sense if SW is trying to reach a different audience than just the furrowed browed 50yr old prog music fan who can't stand at a concert anymore . Lets face it, pop music is where the money is at and SW now is married with a built in family and dog so wage and salary and benefits is now a concern for him....Phil Collins was not able to afford a US$30million water front estate in Miami from just the sales of Foxtrot or SEBTP, no no. Even if him covering Taylor's song does not get him a duet down the road with her, but maybe some kind of work on her albums as a producer or engineer or studio musician, that would get his name out there even more, let's not forget SW is in his early 50's, I'm sure he'd like his big pay day soon. I really don't have a problem with the direction he is going musically, but I am not a big fan of the social msg tone of TFB. I will always listen to his music and go to his concerts, the songs have a deeper pleasure when heard live with the musicians he puts on stage. This is totally correct. He's trying to reach a different demographic than the fans he cultivated before with Porcupine Tree and his previous solo records.  I also don't have a problem with him going pop, but I do have a problem with him putting out sub-standard pop instead of putting out something a bit more thoughtful. That is something that Steven Wilson has put out before many times and it's a shame that he decided to drop the ball with this record.