Steven Wilson solo career thread - v. The Harmony Codex in 2023!

[twosuitsluke]

Listening now…

The first few tracks were ok, not the SW style that I love but they were fine. Just got to Impossible Tightrope though, now THIS is more like it. It might be some of the best solo material I’ve heard from him.

Edit: Just finishing this up and I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did, as my interest in Steven has kinda dropped off over recent years. I thought this was roughly a 50/50 split, in first listen, of songs I liked and songs that were just retreading what he’s done before (not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that). I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for “we’re insignificant in the vastness of space” type songs, and there’s a few one here. Looking forward to spinning it again later this evening.

[PMSummer]

It blew me away! I'll admit, his previous solo stuff usually didn't quite hit the mark for me, but this one? Totally vibing with it. The musical direction, the lyrics, everything just clicked.

[Mladen]

I've been relistening to his solo albums this week preparing for the new one. I'm currently enjoying The Future bites, though I suspect the new one will be completely different. 

[ErHaO]

I did not receive any update mail, but apparently my order was sent yesterday (Steven Wilson store, order status says "complete"). I assume UK people received it in time

I also got a code to get the digital deluxe version for a couple of euros, I might just do that.

[faizoff]

I signed up for Amazon Music's Ultra HD plan on a trial basis and they have the album there. While it's not blu-ray fidelity it was higher than regular mp3s, the app on the my phone can also play in Dolby Atmos paired with my Galaxy Buds. I think it's tuned to some level type of Atmos codec and have to say it does sound pretty good.

I listened to the album and first thoughts are I agree with nobloodyname's assessment that it's a progression of Future Bites and some hints of Insurgentes. Overall I was very pleased with the first listen. Lots of different styles on here which will make it a very interesting and fun re-listen.

[nobloodyname]

I did not receive any update mail, but apparently my order was sent yesterday (Steven Wilson store, order status says "complete"). I assume UK people received it in time

I also got a code to get the digital deluxe version for a couple of euros, I might just do that.

I didn't get a notification from the same store, either. But I can confirm that it has been delivered today here in the UK. Unfortunately, I forgot to change my address and it's gone to my ex-partner's place I can listen on Spotify for now. What a total spoon I am.

[goo-goo]

I did not receive any update mail, but apparently my order was sent yesterday (Steven Wilson store, order status says "complete"). I assume UK people received it in time

I also got a code to get the digital deluxe version for a couple of euros, I might just do that.

Where did you get the code from? Haven't received any code from Townsend Music.

[ErHaO]

I did not receive any update mail, but apparently my order was sent yesterday (Steven Wilson store, order status says "complete"). I assume UK people received it in time

I also got a code to get the digital deluxe version for a couple of euros, I might just do that.

Where did you get the code from? Haven't received any code from Townsend Music.

I think it is a Steven Wilson store thing, they offer a new bundle and gave consumers the option to upgrade to that bundle.

[goo-goo]

I did not receive any update mail, but apparently my order was sent yesterday (Steven Wilson store, order status says "complete"). I assume UK people received it in time

I also got a code to get the digital deluxe version for a couple of euros, I might just do that.

Where did you get the code from? Haven't received any code from Townsend Music.

I think it is a Steven Wilson store thing, they offer a new bundle and gave consumers the option to upgrade to that bundle.

Thanks. Kind of fucked up that the ones whose preorders got delayed, get nothing (ordered the deluxe)

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

putting it on now!!!

[Skeever]

Pretty mediocre, imo.
I liked the first two songs, but after that it went down hill for me.
Not the biggest fan of Steven solo at all, so...

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

here are my thoughts after one listen...  i've been a fan of wilson's work forever now, so i was pretty excited to dive into this one.

first off, let me talk about the production. wilson has always been known for his meticulous attention to detail, and it definitely shines through on this album. the sound quality is top-notch, and you can really hear all the layers and textures in the music. it's like he's crafted each song with the utmost care, and it pays off big time. as for the songs themselves, there's a real sense of diversity here. wilson explores a wide range of musical styles and moods throughout the record. one minute you're floating through these ethereal, almost otherworldly soundscapes, and the next, you're hit with some seriously powerful rock riffs. it's a journey, for sure. lyrically, wilson has always been a bit of a poet, and that's no different on "the harmony codex." his lyrics are thought-provoking and often delve into deep emotional territory. i found myself getting lost in the words, trying to unpack their meaning.

about the musicianship: wilson is joined by a stellar group of musicians on this record, and their chemistry is undeniable. the way they play off each other, weaving in and out of intricate arrangements, is a joy to listen to. it's clear that they're all on the same wavelength. one thing that struck me about this album is its length. it's a bit on the long side, clocking in at over an hour. while i love a good epic, i did find myself feeling a tad overwhelmed by the sheer amount of music to digest. it's the kind of album you really need to set aside some time for, but if you're a fan of wilson's work, it's well worth the investment.

THC is another strong addition to steven wilson's discography. it's a testament to his talent as a musician and a producer. while it might require a bit of patience due to its length, the rewards are plentiful. if you're a fan of progressive rock with a touch of the avant-garde, this album is definitely worth checking out.

[Metro]

Waiting till tonight to listen to the album so I can give it my full attention. Not looking at any reviews in this thread until then.

Here’s an interview with Steven and Niko Tsonev on That Pedal Show. Might be interesting for fellow gearheads like me.

https://youtu.be/kkFCxO1HBp4?si=uI-0-9LVA7DKMUtE

[hefdaddy42]

After one listen, I think it's pretty fantastic.  Not sure where it would rank yet, but definitely much better than the last album.

[ReaperKK]

Gave THC a spin twice this morning and it's largely forgettable to me. I don't think there are any really memorable moments and largely it feels like SW by the numbers, to my ears these neither feels fresh nor compelling. The production is amazing as always though.

[King Postwhore]

After one listen, I think it's pretty fantastic.  Not sure where it would rank yet, but definitely much better than the last album.

It's a very lush album.  I'll need multiple listens.

[pfillion]

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the physical version of the album, but I couldn't resist giving it a listen on Qobuz. I must say, I was truly captivated by many of the songs in the latter half of the album, particularly the closing track, "Staircase." While I don't think it will surpass "Raven" and "HCE" in my personal rankings, after just one listen, I find myself enjoying this album more than "Future Bites" and "To The Bone.

[Sacul]

Just finishing my first listen, damn this is quite good! Really feels like a more cohesive amalgamation of every style he's done than To the Bone. Quite a return to form imo, love the electronics and the very cinematic mood. Many lovely, interesting soundscapes here.

[faizoff]

I'm 3 listens in and really enjoying it. I'm loving all the different styles in here. Can't wait to dive into the bonus stuff once I get my deluxe box set. Michael Akerfeldt sings on Time is running out on the 2nd disc. Also really want to hear that 17 min version of the title track.

[PixelDream]

Listened to the album opener but my neighbour was using a grinder outside so those ‘7 seconds of pure silence’ weren’t exactly that.. although I otherwise would’ve enjoyed my mild tinnitus.

The rest of the singles I already know VERY well, been spinning them to death.

I am still wildly excited to hear it, but now I have the kids and tonight I’m having a friend over to listen to the 12LP King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard boxset that just came in.

But when he leaves, finally there’s the time to hear it, tonight, in the dark. I already checked out some of Beautiful Scarecrow while in my car, but the music just screamed “please wait and listen to this at night”.

If the entire album is as good as the singles, this will easily top The Future Bites for me. My issue with that album was that most of it felt pretty superficial, not grand as per usual with SW. I still think it’s a good record and I still return to it, but it just lacked that magic. Everything I’ve heard from The Harmony Codex has that epic feeling again and I can’t wait to hear it tonight.

[twosuitsluke]

I am still wildly excited to hear it, but now I have the kids and tonight I’m having a friend over to listen to the 12LP King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard boxset that just came in.

Damn, I’m jealous! That Red Rocks set looks incredible. You do remember it’s 9 hours right?!

[PixelDream]

I am still wildly excited to hear it, but now I have the kids and tonight I’m having a friend over to listen to the 12LP King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard boxset that just came in.

Damn, I’m jealous! That Red Rocks set looks incredible. You do remember it’s 9 hours right?!

Haha oh yeah uhm I guess we’ll just listen to night 1 then!

[twosuitsluke]

I am still wildly excited to hear it, but now I have the kids and tonight I’m having a friend over to listen to the 12LP King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard boxset that just came in.

Damn, I’m jealous! That Red Rocks set looks incredible. You do remember it’s 9 hours right?!

Haha oh yeah uhm I guess we’ll just listen to night 1 then!

I’d be in for the long haul with you

[MinistroRaven]

Fritzinger album review:

Steven Wilson usually makes it true: his promise to not promise anything. Content to be able to challenge his listeners, not having to submit to conventions, limits, or expectations, he plays with whatever his fans are expecting, giving them a smirk, saying “oh, you thought this was going to be apple? Sorry, here’s banana”. And usually, before any release, fans go on saying things like “if this is anything like the last one, he’s lost me”, hoping for an album “similar to XY”, as if any Wilson solo album was anything like the last one or similar to any of this other work.

That’s the exciting aspect about this artist. Listeners love him for that, and they hate him for that. Each new release could easily be a jazz/fusion-, brit-pop-, or noise/drone-album. I choose these weirdly specific genre-combinations, because – as every Wilson fan knows – he indeed has released all those albums. And they usually earn a lot of praise. Remember, “Hand. Cannot. Erase.” was the “The Wall” of the 21st century! Whatever that means. They also earn lots of disapproval, accusations of selling out because of pop influences (“To The Bone”) or selling out even more because of pop influences (“The Future Bites”). However, Wilsonusually manages to pour these influences into a form of his own musical identity. As a result, a Steven Wilsonalbum is always recognizable as such, no matter if it’s a synth-pop-, new-prog/prog-metal-, or ambient/folk-album (once again, these are not made-up combinations).

This pattern of not following different patterns has worked until now. For his newest release, however, Wilsondecided to work without any agenda and create an album that doesn’t belong to any specific genre. Of course, a genreless album is impossible to make, so this undertaking resulted in a varied, colorful record, reaching out to various genres, including many influences, and taking a few steps that are unconventional, even for Steven Wilson’s standards. This can either result in a thrilling journey through the unknown, or just in a loose collection of tracks that are so different from each other that they shouldn’t be on the same album. Let’s see which one “The Harmony Codex” will be.

After the largely self-recorded “The Future Bites”, Wilson decided to rely on the skills of his frequent collaborators and session musicians again. His privilege to be able to use such a large number of talented musicians has always led to stunning contributions. Wilson usually even lets his colleagues off the leash quite a bit, perhaps taking influence from masters such as Frank Zappa or Robert Fripp. Many fans will be delighted to hear that this is the case once again on most tracks of his new album. The opening “Inclination”for instance makes perfect use of the abilities of legendary King Crimson percussionist Pat Mastelotto, who provides an electronically manipulated rhythm fundament and gated tom sounds. Even more interestingly, Steven Wilson seems to give an appreciating nod to Jon Hassell during the opening track, with the layered trumpet sounds of Nils Peter Molvaer that were once typically created by the late great ambient pioneer. “Inclination” features a complete instrumental first half, serving as a dark and suspenseful introduction, and is a far more interesting opening to “The Harmony Codex” than “Unself”/”Self” was to “The Future Bites”.

Surprisingly, large portions of “The Harmony Codex” are instrumental or use voice(s) as “just” another color within the lavish arrangements. A mostly vocal-less song like “Impossible Tightrope” might be exactly what “Raven”-, “Hand”-, or “Grace”-fans have been waiting for, although it still would have been an outsider on any of these albums. Despite all Pink Floyd- and Yes-influences, it still features a quite trip-hoppy rhythm section, provided by jack of all trades Nate Wood and even some 90s Brit-pop influences at times. An eminently (pun intended) new feature in the Wilson-cosmos is the choir featured during the middle section of the song though, which explains what he might have meant by “spiritual” jazz influences. Prominent features of Theo Travis and Adam Holzman go perfectly with the Kamasi Washington-infused gospel choir during this 11-minute journey. Well done, Steven. 

Still, fans who heard this cut as a single and expected a full album in this vein might be disappointed by the whole Codex as the fusion-prog track is but one of many colors shown on the rectangular shapes of the album cover. Another ten minutes are spent without a sung word by the far more meditative title track, revealing Wilson’s long-lasting love for 70s infused ambient and electronic music by the likes of Tangerine Dream, the late Klaus Schulze or Nils Frahm, to name a more contemporary example. It takes a lot of self-confidence and trust into his fans to release an ambient track featuring spoken word contributions by his wife Rotem on a “regular” Steven Wilson album, instead of including it on a new Bass Communion release (which by the way is still highly anticipated by the reviewer and ambient fans alike for sure). Still, it works somehow and brings the “Codex” to a halt, giving listeners a moment to breathe, while giving off a sublime feeling, not unlike Pink Floyd managed to do 55 years earlier on “A Saucerful Of Secrets”.

In between experiments and ventures, there are also some tracks on “The Harmony Codex” that might be less of a surprise to fans. This is not to say these songs don’t reach the quality of the aforementioned ones. They are just closer to what you might expect from a Steven Wilson album. “Time Is Running Out” and the introverted “Economies Of Scale” capture the electronic, beat-driven vibe of “The Future Bites”, but don’t aim to get listeners to move their feet to it. Both tracks are essentially Wilson-solo tracks proper, with the exception of a few contributions from Adam Holzman and Niko Tsonev. “What Life Brings” is a more traditional track that wouldn’t have been misplaced on “Stupid Dream” or “Lightbulb Sun”. Or “Division Bell” or “A Momentary Lapse Of Reason”, for that matter. It is safe to say that son-in-law of Richard Wright and touring bassist for the final two Pink Floyd tours Guy Pratt was a perfect choice for this beautifully unfussy piece of psychedelic pop.

 “The Harmony Codex” is also home to a few peculiar electronica-artpop gems that only Steven Wilson would be able to create. “Beautiful Scarecrow” and “Actual Brutal Facts” even bring back the unsettling, eerie aura created by “Index” from 2011’s “Grace For Drowning”, with the former building up to a layered electronic construct of sound, completed by Ben Coleman’s weeping violin, until it crashes into a signature drum groove of the much missed Craig Blundell. A secret highlight on the “Codex”. These songs are not about melody or harmonies, but rather about atmosphere, the uneasy feeling they bring across.

Studying this quite complex album for roughly a week like the reviewer did is far from appropriate to lay down an adequate review, which is why what you are reading is rather the momentary impression of the release. It will take a few months to comprehend what the “Codex” is all about, and this includes the thoughts expressed by its lyrics. Dedicated fans will know the unsettling, yet heartbreaking science fiction short story found towards the end of Wilson’s book “Limited Edition Of One”, which serves as the basis for the thoughts shared on “The Harmony Codex”. Everything comes together in the final track “Staircase”, musically as well as lyrically (probably), including modern electronica, convoluted bass lines, a superb rhythm section and a grand yet reserved finale featuring a callback to the ambient soundscapes and spoken words of the title track. Staircases take an important role in the aforementioned short story. However, quite a bit of time will be needed to connect all the dots and find meaning in the words sung and spoken on the album. And quite a bit of work will be needed to fully grasp what is happening during the 64-minute journey that is “The Harmony Codex”. 

Until then, here are a few disjointed thoughts in no particular order that popped up in the reviewer’s head while listening and that haven’t been expressed in this review.

It is versatile. 
It is dark and unsettling at times. 
It sounds incredible. Seriously.
It is more complex, more interesting, and ultimately better than “The Future Bites”.
It is also harder to get into than “Hand. Cannot. Erase.” and “To The Bone”. 
It will be interesting to see how these soundscapes are transported onto the stage. 
It is more daring and innovative than Porcupine Tree’s comeback album “Closure/Continuation” (of course this wasn’t too hard to achieve). 
It barely has any big, catchy choruses. 
It doesn’t in any way try to be liked by mainstream audiences. 
It cannot be danced to (mostly).

https://lotsofmuzik.com/steven-wilson-the-harmony-codex-album-review/

[devieira73]

Really nice album, I believe it will not surpass the excellent run from Grace to To the Bone, but I think it comes close. My faves are the really great Impossible Tightrope and Staircase, with a lot of good things in the middle... with the exception of THC, which it's not exactly my type of music. But I still think that would be interesting if they placed that song as the last one, kind to just relax after hearing the proper album (I've heard the album this way and it really works!). Where it is, sure disrupts the excellent flow of the album IMO.

[devieira73]

https://www.discogs.com/release/28425214-Steven-Wilson-The-Harmony-Codex
THAT chapman stick by Nick Beggs on Staircase

[Anguyen92]

I think it's a solid enough album.  That being said, to me, it felt like an album that was still felt like it was starting just as it was ending.  Like it felt like there's a yearning for more after I finished listening to it.  I don't know how to explain it.  Probably will give it another listen to properly assess it.

[HOF]

Listening now and enjoying it so far.

[RandalGraves]

I felt like if you took the musical foundation of TTB and TFB and made it more progressive...you'd have this. With that said, my SW tastes have always gravitated towards Raven and HCE (so, a more classic prog-rock feel, I guess you could say). On a first listen I feel there's a lot of "filler," especially towards the end of the album, but I hope repeat listens allow me to appreciate it more.

It's okay.

[twosuitsluke]

Ok, second listen down. I enjoy this quite a lot, especially the more spacey/ethereal sounds in the back half of the album. I could take or leave the first three songs, and they are the weakest part of the album for me. You could do away with two of them and have Impossible Tightrope as the second track, and I’d be fine with that. Tightrope is the token proggy song but I think it’s a pretty good one. From there on out the record takes me into outer space.

Highlights so far are 100% Impossible Tightrope, The Harmony Codex, Time is Running Out and Staircase. These songs are really good and I prefer the overall vibe of the record over the last. I really, really liked 12 Things I Forgot on the last record, but could kinda take or leave most of the rest of it.

I’ll give this another spin over the weekend but early impressions are positive and it could crack my top 20.

[HOF]

Is this not out yet in the US? Amazon doesn't have it until October except on import, Laser CD doesn't have it listed.

Edit: remembered there was a production delay on this one. Still not really listed for sale on Amazon (you have to click through to a bunch of third party sellers). Kind of weird.

[faizoff]

Is this not out yet in the US? Amazon doesn't have it until October except on import, Laser CD doesn't have it listed.

Not quite sure what the arrangement is this time, I've always bought it from either Best Buy / LaserCd / Amazon. This time I ordered through Burning Shed and did notice how it was not listed at many retailers. I think only Burning Shed and SW's official store had it.

[Skeever]

Is this not out yet in the US? Amazon doesn't have it until October except on import, Laser CD doesn't have it listed.

Edit: remembered there was a production delay on this one. Still not really listed for sale on Amazon (you have to click through to a bunch of third party sellers). Kind of weird.

None of the local record stores in my area have it.

[Crow]

i dug it
nothing immediately blowing me away but it feels like a solid mesh of SW's best instincts in terms of both prog and electronic stuff, i think the title track could serve to be a bit shorter and some of the shorter tunes felt kinda There but it's prob the most i've liked a SW project overall since... at least to the bone if not HCE

[Metro]

OK finally time to dive in.