Steven Wilson Steven Wilson: New album 'The Overview' for early 2025

[sjcorne]

I like that, aside from the one break in the middle, everything is somehow connected

Same here, and I'm really surprised to see comments saying that it sounds 'disjointed' or like 'a collection of bits stitched together.' I think it all flows remarkably well, to the point where listening to the separated tracks on streaming - with the fades between movements - kind of breaks the spell and takes me out of the zone. As always with these things, there's no accounting for taste.

 

[bookofsaturdays]

First real listen to the Apple Music stream at a reasonable volume.

Steven’s vocal harmonies and arrangements keep getting more and more ambitious. Just beautiful.

I can tell this record will be a real grower and I’m very excited to experience it multiple times to uncover everything it has to offer.

In anticipation of the new record rather than going back to the albums I love (Hand Cannot Erase, Raven) I decided to really give his more recent releases a fair chance and I’m so glad I did. I’ve been absolutely loving To The Bone lately. In my opinion it’s pretty much a perfect album, whereas before I thought it only had a couple really great songs. Permanating is an infectious pop masterpiece, and the title track is stunning. I’ve been listening to the album both in 5.1 and stereo in the car!

I’ll just say that Steven’s music is a joy to listen to, whether it be in stereo or surround.

Eagerly awaiting my boxset to arrive!

 

[pat bateman]

This is Atmos demo material for sure. If you're ever not sure if your height speakers are working, just throw this on. This should be a master class for engineers on how to utilize height channels tastefully - and how to use them in the first place for some. This album is what Atmos is supposed to be about. It feels like SW writes music with Atmos in mind first, or at least as equally as important as the music itself.

I did not like the stereo version of this album. I'm not a SW fan boy of his solo stuff, or him in general - his lyrics and themes can be cringey as hell, I hate his business antics of exlclusive versions of things behind Boxsets, The Future Bites was complete .

What to take away from all that - do not listen to this album in Stereo. Ever. It would be like watching Dune on a iPhone instead of 4K Bluray and a HT system with a sub that digs <20hz.

 

[sjcorne]

I’ve been absolutely loving To The Bone lately. In my opinion it’s pretty much a perfect album, whereas before I thought it only had a couple really great songs. Permanating is an infectious pop masterpiece, and the title track is stunning. I’ve been listening to the album both in 5.1 and stereo in the car!

I love it too, though that seems to be an unpopular opinion(?) among the fanbase. The first half, with the exception of "Refuge" (the only track on the album I still don't really care for), has to be some of the most joyous and colorful music he's ever made. Of course I'd rather hear it on the big system in surround, but those songs are just as fun to listen to in the car or out walking. On the other end of the spectrum, "Blank Tapes" and especially "Song of Unborn" rank among his most heartfelt compositions.