THE INCIDENT

Steven Wilson and company shows excellent craftsmanship on this most recent effort of their, but the moments of true brilliance seems to be few and far away this time around. Unless one really fancies mellow, sophisticated music with strong singer/songwriter leanings that is.

The 18 tracks on these two Cds are very much a mixed affair though. While the mellow and subdued tracks and themes does dominate, and most of them as far as I'm concerned lacks the small extras that transforms them into stunning sonic experiences, there's also quite a few numbers where the contrasts between acoustic guitar or piano-lead themes and harder-hitting riff-based passages are utilized to good effect. There's aalso a few quirky, heavier compositions that should satisfy those not too fond of the mellow stuff.

But by and large this is a subdued effort with select heavier passages and tracks rather than the opposite. The epic length Time Flies are among the most succesfull tracks, and is a rather good example of what the rest of the CD has to offer.