“A 42-minute long journey based on the reported ‘overview effect'”
Kingston-born musician Steven Wilson has released his eighth studio album, The Overview, via Fiction Records on 14 March.
The English artist has returned to expansive progressive-rock for his new record, reminiscent of his Pink Floyd-inspired album, The Sky Moves Sideways (1995), with its heavily instrumental soundscapes.
The Overview is a two-track, 42-minute album inspired by the “overview effect”, the profound phenomenon that astronauts typically experience when looking back at the Earth from outer space.
The vocalist, guitarist and songwriter takes listeners on an expansive journey through a series of melodies and sonic sounds in a genre that defined his solo and Porcupine Tree releases.
Describing the effect, Wilson said: “Not all experiences are positive: some see the Earth truly for what it is, insignificant and lost in the vastness of space, and the human race as a troubled species.”
He added that what began as a solo recording turned into a collaborative production with Craig Blundell on drums, Adam Holzman playing keyboard and Randy McStine on guitars.
Even the vinyl version was specifically mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, making the album available on physical and digital formats with a bonus atmospheric audio version.
Wilson collaborator Miles Skarin also made a full-length film to add complementary visuals to The Overview, which premiered at the BFI on 25 February followed by a Q&A.
“The album presents images and stories of life on Earth, both good and bad”
Wilson’s newfound immersion echoes The Harmony Codex (2023), but this time delicate yet haunting vocals pierce through the ambience of space and immediately strike that familiar feel of vulnerability into listeners.
The intro to the opening track Objects Outlive Us bears resemblance to Inclination, track one of Wilson’s 2023 album, as it sets the stage for an expansive sonic landscape with layered production that textures the scene.
The ambience fluctuates throughout the album, plunging back and forth into fast paced tempos before evening out into distinctive tones that evoke how the wonders of space may be expressed by astronauts.
An array of lyrics, including a set written by XTC’s Andy Partridge, help to tell the story in Objects Outlive Us and translate the philosophical phenomenon through fragmented storytelling, akin to the style seen in The Harmony.
The abrupt interruption of “Did you forget I exist?”, followed by the raw interplay of piano and ride cymbal, builds an intense atmosphere, making listeners feel the ascension towards a pinnacle moment with each thudding beat of the drums.
The awe of outer space is captured through this unpredictable rhythmic ordeal of world instruments that perfectly emulates the chaos of reality, blending various cultural sounds under one eternal symphony.
Rocked by the abrupt metal drums and searing electric guitar, then smoothly transitioning back to the hush of couplet lyricism, those listening find themselves entranced by the relentless heartbeat of civilisation.
Randy McStine’s croaky solo, performed on an overdriven electric guitar, reverberates around the room as it hits highs and lows before timely eroding into a frequency of pure dread for the remainder of Objects Outlive Us.
The tracks’ continuity resonates with the exponential nature of reality, as the astronaut’s perception of existence shifts rapidly to new perspectives, all while remaining unbeknownst to their own identity.
The composition speaks to humanity’s quarrel over simple matters, as though the astronaut is trembling over the terror of it all and looking on at the Earth in abundance of its unknown counterparts.
The last remaining expression of The Overview settles the experience to an outro in a slow combination of reverbed brass and a panning e-piano keyboard.
It leaves the listener feeling content and pondering over the grandeur of natural possibilities, having been on a progressive journey of sound, rhythm and imagination.
