“A 42-minute-long journey based on the reported “overview effect”
Kingston-born musician Steven Wilson releases 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, forty-two-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.
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’, tack 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.
