Steven Wilson v. To. The. Bone.

[johnnysuperfan]

love Permanating, no complaints just overall a great rock album

[Anguyen92]

Thats cool, so you got it on the 17th? Thought you might have to wait til midnight or something .
I'm originally from pacific time so, yeah am 9 hours ahead over here. Only had time for one listen so far but like it over all... need a few more listens to see what grows on me and like someone else wrote, what, if any songs I start skipping...

Since I listened to the album on Spotify, which I'm actually surprised it is there given Steven Wilson's stance of being against Spotify and streaming services in general, typically, I get to hear new albums on Spotify after 9PM PST, since I guess the official time to have albums available on iTunes, Spotify, etc. is at 12 PM EST, I think.

As for the album, I had an enjoyable time listening to it for the most part.

[goo-goo]

I'm liking the album but not sure if I will be playing that often. I do like the new vocal styles he used on this record. His previous records sounded the same in the vocal melody department.

[KevShmev]

A lot to digest, but sounds really good after one listen.  Many more listens to come. 

[rumborak]

Two listens in, it's quite good already.

[RoeDent]

which I'm actually surprised it is there given Steven Wilson's stance of being against Spotify and streaming services in general,

I think, while he may still be against it in his own mind, he's accepted that streaming is here to stay as one of the ways that many people consume music. Tbh, railing against streaming is kind of a lost cause now. It's like trying to stop the tide.

On another note, I woke up this morning with Detonation stuck in my head. I haven't gotten into an album this quickly since The Astonishing in January 2016. The album is every bit as incredible as I thought it would be, and more. And I kind of hope that some of those who dismissed it pre-release just because it was "pop" will get a chance to eat their words. This is Steven Wilson through and through.

[mikemangioy]

Haven't posted here for a while but man, this record is great. I wasn't really hyped for it but gave it a spin anyways because I trust Steven. It's like a modern-day Stupid Dream.

[Elite]

Except Stupid Dream is one of the worst PT albums and To the Bone is very good.

[SwedishGoose]

...So that first line in People Who Eat Darkness.

What, you're surprised he lives in a flat? He's not that kind of rock star that can afford a mansion. 

Got both the album (love it) and Prog Magazine yesterday.
Prog has an interview with Steven that was done in "the conservatory of his Heartfordshire home".

[KevShmev]

On another note, I woke up this morning with Detonation stuck in my head. I haven't gotten into an album this quickly since The Astonishing in January 2016. The album is every bit as incredible as I thought it would be, and more. And I kind of hope that some of those who dismissed it pre-release just because it was "pop" will get a chance to eat their words. This is Steven Wilson through and through.

Amen to that.  I listened to this a lot last night and have it on already this morning, and I am loving it already.  Detonation is incredible.

Haven't posted here for a while but man, this record is great. I wasn't really hyped for it but gave it a spin anyways because I trust Steven. It's like a modern-day Stupid Dream.

I guess I get the comparisons to Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun, in that it is pretty catchy overall like those records are, but To the Bone sounds little like either of them.

Got both the album (love it) and Prog Magazine yesterday.
Prog has an interview with Steven that was done in "the conservatory of his Heartfordshire home".

 

[home]

So it took me four listens to find out it's not "once we've made sense of our world, we wanna go fuck up everybody else's because his or her shoes doesn't match mine." 

I'm really liking the album so far, only Permanating got boring already. It's also kind of a shame there's this block of four songs I already listened to a lot in the middle of the album. (Kinda my own fault tho). Pariah en Refuge remain my favourite so far.

Also really hope those rumours of a video of People Who Eat Darkness are true

[jammindude]

Except Stupid Dream is one of the worst PT albums and To the Bone is very good.

 

[TioJorge]

Love it! This is what I needed from Wilson to stay into his solo career. I needed something different from the purely macabre, story-focused concepts he's been so into the last handful of years. This has the same attention to detail as his past albums, the same mastery in instrumentals and intrigue in lyrics except he's taken his usual approach and turned it upside down. I love that. One of the most depressing things about artists that I love is seeing them get into a horribly boring habit of staying safe. Even if I hadn't liked this, I would've loved the fact that he tried something different. I was really getting close to getting bored of his solo albums. Funny enough, my least favorite song on this album is the one that's closest to his previous couple albums, Pariah.

On the opposite end I really love Same Asylum and Permanating. Also really love Refuge and Detonation, while having similar qualities and approach as his usual stuff, it's certainly got a few twists and a different side that makes it interesting and fresh.

Really love this stuff, I'm glad he's taking chances still and trying new things. Pop star Wilson is great.

[Zantera]

Except Stupid Dream is one of the worst PT albums and To the Bone is very good.

No way man. Stupid Dream is easily better than most of their discography.

[Crow]

Except Stupid Dream is one of the worst PT albums and To the Bone is very good.

glad to see i'm not the only one who thinks Stupid Dream is particularly weak by PT standards, it's my least favorite of the PT albums i own

i need to give this one another listen but i did think it was at least pretty decent first listen, tbh better than GfD and raven overall

[Sacul]

Except Stupid Dream is one of the worst PT albums and To the Bone is very good.

No way man. Stupid Dream is easily better than most of their discography.

Dunno if I'd put it THAT high but it's kind of a middle-tier for me, which still means it's awesome because most PT records are brilliant.

tbh better than GfD and raven overall

Better than TRTRTS? Aye. Better than GFD? 

[Crow]

gfd is the worst of the three SW albums i own, so if it's better than raven it's better than gfd by default

[KevShmev]

Love it! This is what I needed from Wilson to stay into his solo career. I needed something different from the purely macabre, story-focused concepts he's been so into the last handful of years. This has the same attention to detail as his past albums, the same mastery in instrumentals and intrigue in lyrics except he's taken his usual approach and turned it upside down. I love that. One of the most depressing things about artists that I love is seeing them get into a horribly boring habit of staying safe. Even if I hadn't liked this, I would've loved the fact that he tried something different. I was really getting close to getting bored of his solo albums. Funny enough, my least favorite song on this album is the one that's closest to his previous couple albums, Pariah.

On the opposite end I really love Same Asylum and Permanating. Also really love Refuge and Detonation, while having similar qualities and approach as his usual stuff, it's certainly got a few twists and a different side that makes it interesting and fresh.

Really love this stuff, I'm glad he's taking chances still and trying new things. Pop star Wilson is great.

Great post! 

Even though I like the EP a lot, 4 1/2 sounded like Wilson was running out of things to say in regards to that retro-prog style, so a wide left turn and change of pace was just what the doctor ordered, and as usual, he delivered the goods.   It might end up being only my 4th favorite SW solo record (still way too early to tell), but that would be no shame considering how good Grace, The Raven and HCE all are.

I am still not getting this "pop" thing people are talking about.  Most of the songs seem to be growers, rather than having catchy choruses that are going to instantly grab you, ala Stupid Dream, which is an AWESOME record.

[TioJorge]

More of a joke on my end than anything but it's tough to ignore the more upbeat, near pop-like sound that Same Asylum and absolutely Permanating has in the forefront of those songs. Even the usual sexy yet dark Song Of I has sprinkles of a more groove focused beat than a lot of his previous solo works.

Definitely overblown by many but I can certainly see where it stems from. Wilson has also been very vocal himself about how he is interested in having at least a minor pop-like influence in his music and stated in a couple interviews that Permanating is the song he's proud of most on the record. So it makes sense, but yeah it's not like this is a full on Abba album despite him mentioning them as a big influence. I don't think we have to worry about Wilson going all Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber on us. 

Actually...and I say this with a straight face...even if he did make a completely pop focused album, I am certain it'd still be awesome and have the depth of oceans compared to the puddles of most super overplayed pop hits of today. Not to say I want that, but I do have a tendency to enjoy some weirdly detailed and well played pop in the albums of men who are considered by many to be musical savants. It's pretty enjoyable to think of Wilson standing up on stage with his usual restrained self as he sings Permanating and people dancing to it. 

[Mladen]

I am very underwhelmed by Detonation and it's a surprise to see so many people picking it as their favorites. It goes on for far too long without any major changes and for me it hardly provides any memorable riffs or melodies.

On the other hand, The Same asylum as before is growing on me like crazy. What a fantastic chorus. Steven's falsetto is working perfectly.

[?]

I've only listened to the album once on Spotify, but I definitely liked it. Of course HCE is unbeatable, but I'd wager To the Bone will be my 2nd favorite SW solo record by default, because I'm not a massive fan of his 70s retro stuff, and Insurgentes is a little hit-or-miss.

My only complaints are that Permanating - a song I liked alright as a single - sounds really jarring in the album context, especially coming right after Refuge, and I'm still not into the falsetto in the verses of Asylum, and that rock riff sounds too much like Prodigal IMO. On the other hand, the title-track hit me like a ton of bricks right away, People Who Eat Darkness is a cool rocker, and that second half of Detonation is funky as hell indeed.

[RoeDent]

Saying something sounds like something else is a petty reason to criticize, really. When there's only 12 notes to choose from in the octave, you're bound to repeat yourself occasionally. And its context is what makes it completely and utterly its own thing. When I first heard that riff, I thought "That's an awesome riff, and use of rhythm", not "Oh, that's from Prodigal." Once again, it's down to more cynical people to point these things out and be like "This is a rip-off. You're supposed to be angry that he's done this."

My only complaints are that Permanating - a song I liked alright as a single - sounds really jarring in the album context,

It's not that jarring, really. I mean, it's not the only track on the album offering positivity and hope. You've got Nowhere Now, Pariah and Song of Unborn as well, so the balance of positivity to negativity (all based on reality, of course) is more even than we may think.

Another thing we must remember (nothing really to do with the aforementioned) is that SW creates characters, and writes from their point of view, not his own. But sadly, we'll probably get some buffoons who just jump in with their hate without reading all the details we have about the proper context of the songs.

[KevShmev]

Wilson has used the falsetto when singing for as long as I can remember, yet all of sudden some have an issue with it.  Seems like an odd thing to get shuked over.

[PixelDream]

I love Same Asylum's chorus. It's super catchy and full of melodic twists that I definitely didn't see coming when I first heard the track.

[Sacul]

Hey guys with the folks at Prog Talk we reviewed the album, I think you should check the last review, make an interesting analogy with candies

"I’ve felt that Stephen Wellson are rather funny about their branding ever since I noted the words ‘GO OUTSIDE YOU GODDAMN LOSER’ scrawled hastily on a bar of their chocolates this one time. This branding rang true at this event as well, though it was generally handled a bit more delicately than prior occasions with ‘Song of Ice Cream’ and ‘Detonating Candy’. All of that was undone however with ‘People Who Eat Dark Chocolate’, a dark chocolate bar with a picture of a skeleton at a computer blemishing the rapper (how meta…). That said, these were some of my favourite flavours from the bunch, reminding me of the similarly edgy but similarly delicious ‘Feathers of a Black Parrot’ line of confectionary from one of Wellson & Co.’s other branches. Great texture and a greater mixture of bittersweetness which only a Wellson snack could pull off."

https://progandtalk.wordpress.com/2017/08/20/roundabout-steven-wilson-to-the-bone/

[SystematicThought]

I've only listened to the album once on Spotify, but I definitely liked it. Of course HCE is unbeatable, but I'd wager To the Bone will be my 2nd favorite SW solo record by default, because I'm not a massive fan of his 70s retro stuff, and Insurgentes is a little hit-or-miss.

My only complaints are that Permanating - a song I liked alright as a single - sounds really jarring in the album context, especially coming right after Refuge, and I'm still not into the falsetto in the verses of Asylum, and that rock riff sounds too much like Prodigal IMO. On the other hand, the title-track hit me like a ton of bricks right away, People Who Eat Darkness is a cool rocker, and that second half of Detonation is funky as hell indeed.

I agree with everything you've said. I found the placement of Permanating to be jarring as well, but I don't know where you put it on the album. Maybe after Nowhere Now---I don't know.

The only song that isn't clicking for me is Same Asylum, it just doesn't do anything for me and I didn't like it when it first came out. I thought maybe in the context of the album I would like it, but no go. To me, it's the weakest track. I love Blank Space as well, I wish it were longer with Ninet being more prominent or if she had another verse.

[NunoTenniscourt]

I'm a bit late to the party with Steven Wilson. I checked out some of his stuff a couple of years ago, and nothing really made an impact on me. I don't even recall what the songs were, exactly.

However, a few months ago, I saw a "reaction" video for the song/video "Routine" and was fucking floored, so I went back and listened to more of his music. This time around, I connected with a lot more of it. Some really amazing stuff.

I can't say I understand the issue with him singing in falsetto, either. This isn't a guy who sings with heavy vocal mass in the first place. So, it's really not that much of a contrast.

Oh, and this Ninet Tayeb woman. She's something special, and just might be my crush of the month.


 

[nobloodyname]

I love Blank Space as well[...]

Me, too. Although I find Shake It Off a little more stirring.

[Crow]

Hey guys with the folks at Prog Talk we reviewed the album, I think you should check the last review, make an interesting analogy with candies

"I’ve felt that Stephen Wellson are rather funny about their branding ever since I noted the words ‘GO OUTSIDE YOU GODDAMN LOSER’ scrawled hastily on a bar of their chocolates this one time. This branding rang true at this event as well, though it was generally handled a bit more delicately than prior occasions with ‘Song of Ice Cream’ and ‘Detonating Candy’. All of that was undone however with ‘People Who Eat Dark Chocolate’, a dark chocolate bar with a picture of a skeleton at a computer blemishing the rapper (how meta…). That said, these were some of my favourite flavours from the bunch, reminding me of the similarly edgy but similarly delicious ‘Feathers of a Black Parrot’ line of confectionary from one of Wellson & Co.’s other branches. Great texture and a greater mixture of bittersweetness which only a Wellson snack could pull off."

https://progandtalk.wordpress.com/2017/08/20/roundabout-steven-wilson-to-the-bone/

Favorite track: eject disc

[RoeDent]

To the Bone is number 1 on the UK "midweek" album chart, which means a top-10 placing is quite likely when the proper chart is released on Friday. One of the UK's finest musicians seems to be finally getting the success and coverage his music deserves.

[ErHaO]

To the Bone is number 1 on the UK "midweek" album chart, which means a top-10 placing is quite likely when the proper chart is released on Friday. One of the UK's finest musicians seems to be finally getting the success and coverage his music deserves.

He is playing in bigger venues around here this tour as well it seems, I think his solo work is gaining recognition (over here a venue with a capacity of 5500 compared to the 3000 I saw him in during the last tour). Deserved I'd say 

[KevShmev]

I love Blank Space as well, I wish it were longer with Ninet being more prominent or if she had another verse.

To me, Blank Tapes has a very strong Storm Corrosion-vibe.  Listening to that song really makes me long for another SC record.

I'm a bit late to the party with Steven Wilson. I checked out some of his stuff a couple of years ago, and nothing really made an impact on me. I don't even recall what the songs were, exactly.

However, a few months ago, I saw a "reaction" video for the song/video "Routine" and was fucking floored, so I went back and listened to more of his music. This time around, I connected with a lot more of it. Some really amazing stuff.

I can't say I understand the issue with him singing in falsetto, either. This isn't a guy who sings with heavy vocal mass in the first place. So, it's really not that much of a contrast.

Oh, and this Ninet Tayeb woman. She's something special, and just might be my crush of the month.

Very nice!  It's always good to see new fans.

As for Routine, I love more SW songs (from his many projects) than you can shake a stick at and Routine would definitely be one of my favorites.   That song is too good for words.

To the Bone is number 1 on the UK "midweek" album chart, which means a top-10 placing is quite likely when the proper chart is released on Friday. One of the UK's finest musicians seems to be finally getting the success and coverage his music deserves.

He is playing in bigger venues around here this tour as well it seems, I think his solo work is gaining recognition (over here a venue with a capacity of 5500 compared to the 3000 I saw him in during the last tour). Deserved I'd say 

I'll be interested to see where it charts here in the U.S., relative to how his records have done.  HCE seems to have brought in quite a few new fans and that should spill over and result in increased sales for this CD.

[erwinrafael]

Steven posted on Facebook something I am uncomfortable with. He said 25 years ago, he released his first solo album under the name Porcupine Tree.

So he views Porcupine Tree as a solo act?

[KevShmev]

Steven posted on Facebook something I am uncomfortable with. He said 25 years ago, he released his first solo album under the name Porcupine Tree.

So he views Porcupine Tree as a solo act?

No. 

On the Sunday of Life was not a band effort; it was Steven Wilson releasing a solo record under the name Porcupine Tree, which later became a real, full-time band.

[erwinrafael]

Right. On the Sunday of Life was a solo effort. My bad.