Steven Wilson – The Overview

Progressive Rock

74%

 

Though I’d be quick to site Porcupine Tree as one of my favourite bands, my relationship with frontman Steven Wilson’s solo work has been much more hit and miss over the years. For every record that hits the mark and delivers some truly transcendent moments, there are two more which fall flat for me by failing to capitalise on an interesting concept, or coming across too cringe or self-indulgent. Thankfully the one constant in Wilson’s solo career is that nothing is constant. His sound never stays in one place too long before shifting focus towards a different facet of his sound. Having dwelled firmly in the realms of electronica for his last two records, his latest project The Overview is much more my speed, landing firmly in progressive rock territory, consisting of two side long epics in the vein of Tubular Bells or Thick as a Brick. 

The record is named for, and centred around, the overview effect; a psychological shift seen in astronauts upon their return home. How their attitudes and perceptions change after seeing the Earth, the entirety of human existence, reduced to a blue marble suspended in the dark void of space. Awestruck by the beauty and fragility of it all. Astronauts may have difficulty adjusting to life back home, with everything from chores, daily routines, small talk, petty squabbles on the news etc., all of it suddenly feeling so trivial and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. More often however, it manifests as a newfound appreciation for just how lucky we are, for all the variables that had to line up for this one little speck in an incomprehensibly large universe to be able to support life. Realising that all the lines on a map that men fight and die for are just made up and meaningless when seeing the entire globe suspended above you. A sudden understanding that we are all one people, and what truly matters is making the most of the brief time we have and caring for the home we all share. 

The album’s A side ‘Objects Outlive Us’, focusing on the disconnect from the mundanity of a normal life, really nails the assignment. The track is a real dark horse, quite possibly sneaking its way into the ranks of Wilson’s best lengthy compositions. The heart of the track, ‘Objects: Meanwhile’, is where we find the best juxtaposition of meaningless humdrum routines with the vastness of the cosmos (“And there in an ordinary street, A car isn’t where it would normally be, The driver in tears ’bout his payment arrears, Still nobody hears when a sun disappears, In a galaxy afar…“). As is often the case Wilson’s lyricism is very on the nose, prone to telling over showing, but the strong melodies in this section really gives the words momentum and leaves them lingering in your thoughts regardless. 

Musically ‘Cosmic Sons of Toil’ is a labyrinthine overlap of complex keys, bass, and guitar work. Trying to follow all of its intricate twists and turns feels aptly akin to attempting to comprehend the vastness of the universe. Closing section ‘No Ghost on the Moor/Heat Death of the Universe’ ends this astronomical epic on a suitably celestial note. The soaring Gilmour-esque guitar work here packs an immense amount of feeling into every note. All told, ‘Objects Outlive Us’ is an absolute triumph. I do, however, have my issues with the title track on the album’s B side. 

With the first half of the album centred on the idea of being frustrated by the inconsequential monotony of normal life, it stands to reason that the other half of the album would focus on the other side of the overview effect; being awestruck by Earth’s beauty and feeling a deeper connection with all the people who call it home. That’s not at all the vibe I get from ‘The Overview’. If anything, spoken word sections rattling off facts and figures, overtop cold, clinical electronica, are about as far removed from a transcendent spiritual awakening as it’s possible to get. Thankfully not all of the title track is this lifeless and underwhelming. ‘Infinity Measured in Moments’ is home to a suitably sci fi keyboard solo that could have come right out of a 70s Yes record, while the haunting ambience of closing section ‘Permanence’ feels like something from the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack. There are some great moments, but at no point does the track get across the grand majestic epiphany which you’d think it’s trying to convey. 

I’d imagine most astronauts experience both facets of the overview effect to some degree, rather than wholly one or the other. My thoughts regarding this record probably fall along the same lines. I’m both awed by The Overview‘s scope and beauty, and frustrated by passages that feel trivial and by the numbers. Perhaps due to how dissatisfied I was with The Future Bites and The Harmony Codex, I ultimately find myself leaning more towards the positive. It’s not quite the astronomical epiphany it was aiming for, but I’d still rank The Overview among Steven Wilson’s best solo releases.