HAND. CANNOT. ERASE.

This album is deserving of the hype that it has generated. It is wonderfully composed and produced (I suppose that we should expect nothing but top notch production from anything that Steven Wilson touches at this point). I have read in places that there are an excessive amount of solos on this record and I disagree. Where there are certainly plenty of moments that highlight the players on the album, none of them become indulgent and/or wanky for me. Rather they are displays of the virtuosic talent that SW has amassed around him. Other reveiwers have done an admirable job with the track by track description of this album so in the interest of brevity I will simply say that my favorite song on Hand. Cannot. Erase. is Ancestral. Gripping stuff and truly a prog masterpiece. I can't wait to see this upcoming tour in Boston in May If you are on the fence about checking this album out, don't hesitate in purchasing a copy. It is well worth it. A note about the art work, I have the LP and think it is absolutely stunning. I could see myself framing this record along with other classic covers like Lark's Tongues someday... Beautiful cover that fits the mood and tenor of the album and its subject matter. A masterpiece (perhaps not quite what Raven or In Absentia are, but still one of the better new releases I have heard in the past decade).