Damned if you do and damned if you don’t, whilst contemplating the sad reality of how negative news, comments and opinions seem to garner more favour (as well as likes, subscribers, and revenues) than positive, upbeat feelgood vibes. Nobody is perfect except those who claim that their opinion is the truth and at the same time bellowing that everything has a dark side (like the moon). Slick being a never wrong lawyer masquerading as an always correct blogger. Always thought that it’s the artist who decides the direction his craft needs to go and not the audience’s prerogative to dictate what said artist should have done. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If you put out the same hit album over and over again, you are milking the cow and taking no chances but if you dare go off on another tangent, you have let down your fans and lost your way (a cross and rusty nails await). Steve Wilson the artist (not the castaway volleyball) has changed course a few times in his long career, but the latest swing has brought out many of the hate-mongers who seemingly know better what he should be doing (which is what exactly?). I am not a judge, jury or executioner, there are more then enough of them going around. I see, I hear, I write, and you get to decide. But if I don’t like it, I won’t even touch it. I obviously like The Harmony Codex (and posted no review for To the Bone or The Future Bites, because I was not into it, at the time). Okay, rant over.
The slightly oblique electronica of “Inclination” has a typewriter-gone-mad section that is super clever, a tasty intro to a thundering beat , courtesy of Pat Mastelotto, perhaps one of the finest prog drummers around, before blooming into a dense art-rock cocktail that has a later era Roxy Music feel, Steve wielding a microphone with inner-city flair and urban chic like a modern day Bryan Ferry, smirking flute and trumpet flutter, martini glass shattering Niko Tsonev guitar, reverberating piano and jungle jangle clatter. It’s not classic prog but definitely classy music.
Two shorter tracks that seek to define the mood as opposed to the over technical disposition of what is to come after. First, the silky smooth “What Life Brings” has drummer Craig Blundell and Guy Pratt on bass, grooving to a shimmering Wilson lead guitar, very accessible material not too far from Blackfield and the follow up “Economies of Scale” which is a densely orchestrated choir and effects arrangement armed with minimalist piano, a soft forlorn vocal and percussive programming ejections.
Sounding like climbing up an “Impossible Tightrope”, this nearly 12-minute romp comes across as a progressive roller coaster of colliding extremes, a massive choir work that defies gravity flowing into a raging intensity bordering on fever, a scintillating Adam Holzman e-piano avalanche, a trio of guitarists (ambient, psychedelic, and electric), a slippery violin, a hardy sax, tons of synths and fertile drums from Nate Wood. All that was missing was some kitchen plumbing.
The plaintive “Rock Bottom” is an album high point (sorry for the pun), featuring the rather remarkable Ninet Tayeb, a modern day Claire Torry or Durga McBroom, who can wrench every drop of saliva out of her sultry voice (you can feel it in your bones). The resonating e-piano acts as an emotional foil for the naked arrangement, enhanced by the orchestral adornments that is off the charts. Brilliant piece of gut-wrenching poise. Niko Tsonev carves the remnants of decorum left with a surgical guitar scalpel that shows no remorse.
A look back to the past with “Beautiful Scarecrow”, a track that would have fitted nicely on Insurgentes or The Raven Refused to Sing. Nick Beggs on Chapman stick, Blundell on the sticks, duduk courtesy of Theo Travis
A complete reversal of style is shockingly unexpected on the Vangelis meets St-Peter in heaven “The Harmony Codex”, that slings this album into a ten-minute reflective elevation that could (and for some critics is) become a tricky deviation into a cul-de-sac that might spell disaster. I own 48 Tangerine Dream records, so I won’t be a candidate for Ariadne’s Thread. I get to chill a bit, which is always prudent.
We arrive back to the opposite spectrum, the simple British electro-pop of “Time Is Running Out”, very close to recent Peter Gabriel, cinematic voice effects blending with percolating percussives and an elastic guitar burst from Niko. Modern stylistics and secure cleverness.
With clanging guitar arpeggios, narration-like voices (no, its not rap for crying out quiet), blender on puree synths, electronic pitter patter, all kinds of argy-bargy going on in the background, “Actual Brutal Facts” is an ear-opening hodge podge of troubling sounds, neither harsh nor saccharine but certainly disturbing. Great bass line that had me winking at the latest Riverside “Id.entity”, and a highly futuristic vibe that pushes the boundaries quite a bit.
“Staircase” is a killer final track, another farsighted piece that has a breathtaking pulse (an oft seen Wilson attribute in all his previous incarnations) with impeccable vocals, both lead and harmony, a wicked bass gurgle (SW) and solid rhythmic backbone from both the athletic Blundell and the booming Samuel Fogarino, and some Rotem Wilson narration that winks anew at the fluttering elasticity of the title track.
So before shielding myself from the imminent onslaught of derisive reply, let me say that I was born and raised on my first and continuing icon, the entire Roxy Music catalog has always been my musical bible. It should therefore not come as a surprise that this stunning 2023 album resonated with me so deeply. Comfortable slippers and my feet aren’t numb.
4.5 congruence manuscripts
