He's released about half the album the last months, but now we can listen to it in it's entirety.

Total length: 41:56

This is the most un-Porcupine Tree/SW Solo (later years)-like album he's released and has probably already stirred the pot and divided fans and listeners. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I don't know if I will like it, but I like that he is making the music he wants to make and not afraid of threading new paths for himself (even if he is wearing shoes previously worn by others at times).

I will give it a listen, but whatever people think about it, he doesn't deserve the level of abuse he's getting.

I didn't like To The Bone, actually think I dig this one more

In general I'm probably not that excited about the album based on the released songs, King Ghost is really good.

I'm not sure why the hate, everyone who follows and buys his albums and goes to his live shows knows the direction he has been taking the past 3yrs. Whether the album is good or not is a different issue.

At this point I expect it will be 2022 before we see him live again in Seattle.

I had the thought, and I think I posted it here a long time ago, that SW was trying hard to get away from the "trip" stuff of old that PT was known for, and he wanted to make his own direction with pop songs ... and sure enough, the stuff that we heard, sounds like a lot of pop songs to me ... nothing really "new" or "inventive" in those 3 or 4 songs.

I'll listen to it, but I'm not putting out money on it at all. I think I'm done with PT and any related work ... now that fame has some of them, they all can do crap ... and everyone will buy it! Not me!

Pretty sweet!!

I agree Steve.....well played and recorded, and one expects that from Wilson,  but the songs simply don't engage me this time around.

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 don't think that if I dislike Swift makes me close-minded, I don't even like her vocals/voice. 

I did not say that she's "utter-sh*te" (your words not mine), just that i dislike her. Big difference. 

Fair enough, but then why did Steven Wilson cover a song from Taylor Swift's Folklore album? 

Maybe Wilson liked that song. 

I don't know that cover, will you post a listening link, please? 

I already did. Look above.

"meh". 

I bet if you do a sort of an experimental, blind hearing test, people will think differently about that song.

Those are quite different than the direction he's taken on this record. I don't think many of those songs are as good as his more progressive songs. Not even close. He's not Benny Andersson or Paul McCartney.

You say that like it's a good thing. 

As for SW, he has definitely been doing pop since the beginning. The one song that doesn’t work for me as well as the others on TFB is 12 Things, because it is so similar to songs like Lazarus from his past.

^THIS! 

There's something to be said about being obscure. When you go in a different direction, your one or two fans get over it in about 5 to 15 minutes and usually you never know that they were upset to begin with.

I do think this is has been over-hyped and perhaps the concept has p*ssed people off. I've seen people complain how long they've had to wait since pre-ordering it and others don't like the change of direction.

Well, I like it, maybe not as much as Raven but I will be playing it some more. Maybe it's a bit short?

Anyway, I'm afraid it's going on the back burner for a bit as the new Lifesigns album is available for download now. 

Exactly. There's nothing with pop at all. Some people will not admit to liking it, but some of it is so catchy and it stays in my head for days.

Steven Wilson doing pop since the beginning? Not quite. There are elements of his music that has been pop but he always balanced it very well from other genres. 

For me, it's not about whether it's prog or not, but whether if it was well executed. Peter Gabriel or Kate Bush, for example, made some of the best pop we'll ever hear. Steven Wilson's new album is not very well executed. In fact, I'm bitterly disappointed by it, since To the Bone was pretty good.

chopper wrote: It's an interesting album, whoever it was that said 12 Things stands out is correct - I like the song but it is out of place. Well, I like it, maybe not as much as Raven but I will be playing it some more. Maybe it's a bit short?

That was likely me, as it was one of the first things that struck me on first listening - just how out of place 12 Things is, I like it, but it doesn’t belong on the album.

Raven is probably my least favourite SW solo album, so TFB easily beats it for me. As to whether it is better than HCE (my favourite SW solo album until now), I’m unsure. But the fact that is even a possibility says a lot for how much I do like it.

Well, we will have to agree to disagree. Or perhaps we even agree, but are coming at the same opinion from different directions. Steven Wilson has been doing pop since the beginning BECAUSE there are elements of his music that have been pop. It’s not so much that he has always balanced it very well from other genres, so much as that he has tried to ignore genres entirely. There has been interview after interview with Wilson over the years, where he has railed against the idea of genre, and pigeonholing any music - let alone his own - into genres.

The Future Bites is no more a pop album than anything else Steven Wilson has done. I’m not even convinced Steven Wilson would be capable of writing a pop album, as that would require him to stick to just one genre, and the tropes of only that genre. He’s not done so, so far, and I don’t expect to zee him do so anytime soon.

This album perhaps has more overt pop elements at times, but as I’ve already stated, those elements have been there since the beginning. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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.

and if the music is good like many have said that's what counts.

The new lp doesn't appeal to me this time around but the next one might. 

If so then that is better to me, money wise. 100% what he is doing is for himself and expression......

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.

listening to it the third time through.

the more i listen to it the more pissed off i am.

i may have just bought my last steven wilson album.

What seems to be the main issue, with the songs I have heard on YT as I have not received my LP yet from across the pond, is that the "pop hook" is missing. Pop music has a hook or a pop riff, if you prefer, and I don't hear that and maybe other songs have it. So yea writing a great pop song is really hard, something prog fans don't give enough credit on....we think a 20 min song is brilliant but a pop song only needs 3-4min to get the point across. 

I think if SW continues down this pop rabbit hole, he may need 2-3 more albums to get it and possibly different musicians. I certainly doubt many prog fans will give him that much space......or he will be treated like Phil Collins post Gabriel era.

If anything, I'm glad he is pushing himself to try and make music he really likes (Prince, ABBA, Tears For Fears), it's not easy.

Everything Everything?

I've got to say that I actually had some expectations about Wilson going pop, as he was able to come up with some pretty good and catchy melodies in the old days. I didn't like the Raven and thought that concentrating more on being catchy and direct could help him. Unfortunately neither TTB nor what I've heard up to now from The Future Bites achieves that in my ears. Of course whether a poppy thing hooks me or not is quite subjective, but as opposed to those whose expectations were low, I am actually kind of disappointed.

Listen to Everything Everything really if you want good quality catchy art pop.

aren't they more alternative rock than pop?

I tend to think that such categorisations are not that meaningful, but of course I committed to one when responding to you, so I can't complain that you come up with this...

I only can say they're great and catchy. I ultimately don't have much business putting them in the "right box". What I can say is that all the time I listen to Future Bites I think I'd rather listen to EE.

that's fine

A while ago I got into trouble in a conversation here about what is pop music (and what's not I guess ). 

So I'll stop here. 

(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

That Tame Impala album is so f**king good, but most of those records are pretty good.

Arrived from across the pond today....

Saw this on 'Prog ears.'

it's more or less an art-pop album, you might like it. 

He's absolutely right.

People who listen to Maroon 5 for example will not latch on to this album in anyway, it's not pop music. TTB had more pop music ingredients easily, Permanating is head and shoulders a pop song.

To me this album misses many marks of the traditional pop attributes, it's a plain jane regular ole rock/alternative rock album with a lot of electronic music elements. I think they are excellent songs, great music but the pop music fan will not connect with it at all. If Steven were to employ his normal band mates and let them rock on on these tunes, it would be another Deadwing album.

If anything my dislike of this album is that Steven is playing many of the instruments, so the music is missing that beef, weight or thickness even depth that normally is present in his solo albums.

He's not a good bass player, so that depth and realism is missing from some songs that Beggs brings on previous albums. The drumming is just fine, not having Jeremy Stacey or Craig Blundell on the album shows, there is weight and beef missing. To me a pop song needs to have a very catchy rhythm section and him on bass with Spearman on drums, I assume he is a session drummer, misses the mark.

I am wondering why he went the direction he did with the musicians, why Beggs and Holzman and Blundell are pretty much missing from most if not the whole album. Was it money? Covid? Different musical ideas, thoughts? I do think the long delay may have hurt him some. There was too much talk about the released songs being pop infused, the album is far from it. The online reviews are too involved, trying to dig too deep and dissect what SW was trying to do.....I don't think it matters.

I think its an excellent album and will remain in constant rotation for me.