It’s no surprise Steven Wilson is my favorite musician. His songwriting and his diversity has been influential on my own band, and I make it a point to see him each time he comes around because of how unique his live shows are.
His albums take a life of their own. They have their own style, concept, and imagery. From the drone inspired Insurgentes, to the jazz tinges of Grace For Drowning, the classic Prog of The Raven that Refused to Sing, to the dark modern Prog of Hand.Cannot.Erase, and the 80s pop inspired To the Bone, he had already shown us an interest in electronic music. It had been scattered throughout. So the next logical step was to bring it to the forefront. An album about modern life. An album about consumerism. And just the packaging to showcase it.
With its blank white style, and “item number” for random assortments of useful and not so useful things to buy, it could be seen on the standard edition, singles, deluxe edition box set, even a special one of a kind box set with a price tag of £10,000. It was on the websites, the music videos. This blank “future” (or present), was everywhere, staring us in the face whether we wanted it or not.
Musically, the album has been divisive, which is probably why it’s taken me so long to write this review. I wanted to approach it unbiased, but with so much build up, it was hard to become unbiased. Maybe it would have been easier if the album hadn’t been so delayed by the COVID 19 Pandemic. But that also shaped the album by giving Steven more time to change track orders and work on bonus songs.
So here is my take:
Part of what made this album so hard to review was the fact that most of it was already released by the time it came out. With each single, the songs had their lovers and haters. I didn’t want to get lost in this because it always makes a difference hearing it by itself versus in the track order. All we hadn’t heard was the “intro”, and the last two songs (“Self” was also released before my copy finally arrived).
The album begins with “Unself”, a simple melody and chord progression over an electronic drum beat. It’s good enough to be an intro, but my issue is that it doesn’t flow well into “Self”. Even a better transition would have made this combo of songs absolutely crushing.
“Self” is a great first song. it introduces the style of the album perfectly. The electronic style mixed with 80s pop. Female background vocals come in on the chorus and lower vocal octaves come in on the verses. The song is enhanced by its appropriate and memorable music video, something that could also be said for “King Ghost” and “Personal Shopper”.
Speaking of “King Ghost”, it’s a great follow up to add contrast with its ethereal style. It moves away from the funky Prince style of the first song to a more trip hop style, reminiscent of Massive Attack. Steven’s falsettos may be a turn off to some people, but it’s a great song that feels just a touch too short.
Up next is “12 Things I Forgot”, which is one of my favorite songs on the album, but is kind of an awkward song after the ambience of “King Ghost”. It os a poppy song that reminds Steven fans of his work with Blackfield. Great sound, catchy chorus, and a nice guitar tone at the end that could have become a full fledged solo (however Steven seems to be taking a page out of Aviv’s book and is going for the least amount of deviation as possible).
After this one step away, it goes right back to the darker and funkier tone of “Eminent Sleaze”. This one caused controversy when it was released as a single. It has a similar combinations of sounds as “Self”, but more focus on groove rather than the driving electronics. There’s some Pink Floyd in the guitars and keyboards, but it’s the lyrics that seem to turn people off. However, it’s a fun song to sing along with and I can imagine people dancing to it live.
This leads us to the first single, “Personal Shopper“, the longest song on the album. It’s got a Nine Inch Nails feel, combining dark EDM (electronic dance music) with ambience, the female backing vocals, falsettos, and a heavier feel than most of the album. It also has a middle section with Sir Elton John naming off products to buy. As a single, this middle section was unnecessary, but in the middle of the album, it helps get the point across and provides some much needed downtime in an album that mostly just flies by.
The last two songs on the album are ones that are ok, but not strong enough to send the album off on. “Follower” is a driving rock song with a repeated hook, that just doesn’t do much for me. It’s upbeat and sounds cool, but would have done better to build up the album before all the great songs that came before it. And “Count of Unease” sounds like Steven’s most uninspired ballad. No strong hook, no big finish. Final ballads are usually his specialty, but it feels so out of place at the end, and you wish there was a “Happy Returns” you could leave off with.
This would be the end of the normal review, but I quickly want to grow through all the leftover songs that appear on other formats.
On the Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set:
CD:
1. “Personal Shopper (Extended)” – an almost 20 minute version of the song to get lost in. Complete with Elton’s part done twice.
2. “Unself (Long Version)” – honestly doesn’t add much, but probably would have been a better build up/transition to the album.
3. “Ha Bloody Ha” – feels more like older Steven Wilson music, and definitely would have been out of place on this album.
4. “Move Like a Fever” – maybe my favorite song to have gotten left off. Dark, danceable, and has really cool sequencing. Hypnotic and memorable. Could have replaced “Follower”.
5. “King Ghost (Extended)” – Steven heard my request and made a longer, more chill version of this already great ambient song.
6. “I Am Cliche” – lives up to its name as the most generic sounding song thus far. A beat that sounds like it could have been for “Eminent Sleaze”, lack of catchy chorus, and a guitar riff that is ok, but I can see why it was left off of the main disc.
7. “Wave the White Flag” – this feels like what “King Ghost” could have been. Lots of similarities, but instead it’s done in that late 90s/early 2000s Porcupine Tree style when Radiohead was a big influence on Steven. Great track.
8. “Eminent Sleaze (Extended)” – another extended dance version like the other two we’ve had on this disc for far. The track takes its time to build on itself and contains all your favorite parts from the original.
9. “In Pieces” – A dark but driving track that has a lot of Depeche Mode influence. Interesting melodies, keyboard arpeggios, and murky guitar tones.
10. “Every Kingdom Falls” – In my opinion, would have been the better closing ballad instead of “Count of Unease”. Darker and sadder, and has that strong Tom Yorke feel. Also shorter and more to the point.
Cassette Tape:
1. “Anyone But Me (Demo)” – A Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra-ish pop song with backing vocals and harmonies, and a familiar chord progression that we’ve heard in countless songs, but all of the familiarity helps the point of the song and drives it’s lyrics and catchy chorus home. Supposedly, the official version will get released in its own format, maybe as a tour only edition.
On the Eminent Sleaze Single (Released on CD and Vinyl)
1. “Eyewitness” – Another track that could have replaced “Follower” in my opinion. 80s dance beats mixed with Tangerine Dream keyboard sounds and backup female vocals.
2. “In Floral Green” (Lonely Robot Cover) – an excellent cover of a very Steven Wilson like song. A spacey ballad by John Mitchell, also known from the bands Frost*, Kino, Arena, and It Bites.
From the 12 Things I Forgot Single (released as a vinyl only)
1. “Move Like a Fever (Alternate Version) ” – an extended version (2 minutes longer) of the already great song that can be found on the bonus disc of the album. The definitive version of the song in my opinion.
2. “King Ghost (Tangerine Dream Remix)”- If you thought the song was ambient to start with, this is an extended version by one of the great ambient artists of all time. Exactly what any fan of both artists could want!
Released on the Ultra Deluxe Version of the album, limited to just one copy.
1. “The Tastemaker” – released as a one sided 7” single, and graciously shared by its owner who also made a video to it. It’s a quick and easy song that expands on the sound and lyrics of “Eminent Sleaze”, without as many falsettos. Not worth £10,000 in my opinion (I’m joking of course, as I know the boxset came with way more than just this one song), but we are very fortunate that it fell in the hands of someone who actually released it to the public. Cheers to you Alan!
And that’s my review. It may not be close to being my favorite Steven Wilson album, but it provides many great songs that will fit well into his already amazing live shows, and the bonus material provided us with a wealth of material, so it’s not just the quick 40 minute album that we look to. I definitely would not want Steven to stick to a specific sound. The beauty has always been watching him try his hand at everything. I’m sure if the next one sounds very different, it would silence the haters of this one. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes next.
View of the Sunrise 