Say what you will, but Steven Wilson never plans on doing anything the same way twice — and certainly never twice in a row. “In my studio, I have this whiteboard, and I write down all the things that I need to get to doing,” he said in 2023 with his seemingly always full schedule. “They’re all on there. The problem is, stuff’s coming in faster than I can get through, which is a great problem to have.” Besides the cavalcade of multichannel and stereo remixes he’s forever tasked with doing, Wilson never has a problem coming up with his own new material — and for his latest, and eighth, solo LP “The Overview“, he went all-in on the one-song-per-side concept, in turn delivering a post-prog masterstroke. “Objects Will Outlive Us” (which runs 23:17) encapsulates the entirety of Side A, and the title track, “The Overview” (which clocks in at 18:21), owns Side B — and they are both absolutely beyond-the-cosmic pale.
Wilson explained that the album’s concept is based on what’s known as “The Overview Effect” phenomenon, something astronauts experience upon going into space and looking back at the Earth. Many astronauts have since reported experiencing a “very profound cognitive shift” and then say they’ve come to understand “just how small, fragile, and beautiful the Earth is in relation to the cosmos, and therefore, by extension, just how small and insignificant the human species is.”
Each “Overview” track reflects those spatially heady concepts, and they are also partitioned into multiple sections so you can pick your interstellar poison each time through, so to speak. In “The Buddha of the Modern Age” — section two of “Objects” on Side A — Wilson (seen below, in fine planetary balance) takes a deliberately staccato approach to how he sings each compound syllable, each line getting additional vocal layers as this section continues. “Permanence” — the sixth and final section of the title track on Side B — is an instrumental duet between Wilson on keyboards and celesta (a struck idiophone with a keyboard that gives off bell-like sound) and Theo Travis on soprano sax, and their respective bleats, chords, and wails go all aswirl for the last 3-4 minutes; celestial seasoning, if ever there was.
Besides deep black half-speed-mastered 180g wax, “The Overview” also appears on limited-edition red and mint green colour vinyl. Given how “The Overview” is presented and arranged, you’re likely to find something new to focus your ears and mind on, upon each successive listen on vinyl — something I’d be happy to do again and again for the next billion years or so myself.
The Fat Angel Sings 