LOVE YOU TO BITS

A pretty good song translated (remixed) into 10 versions, well, yes it is a nice EP, now, writing 100 words about it, is kind of bizarre.

For followers of No-Man, Steven Wilson & Tim Bowness.

All versions show unexpected & creative twists, but if you are already acquainted with these kind of EPs, well, you will eventually find out your top pick.

Mine flows between tracks 9 & 10. Essential as such it is not, good news , yes it is! , but still not essential or a must,.... closer to mere good.

From my side of the fence, when you come to terms with the whole deal, it only left me wondering. Is something else is following this release, as such? That would be great, but this showcase alone? ...Yes it is worth listening to, but as a keeper, or a must? More like a collectible edible, but decent enough to recommend everyone to give it a spin, but then again if you not, well the world is not going to fall down tomorrow (I hope).

As far as rating it .........3 stars, but in PA´s criteria a two is true to rating standars, beyond its possible downgrading implications, but actually it is what it really is .

As commented, maybe you´ll find the one version which may turn out to be a memorable one, even though , you are not in this kind of roads.

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Bits and pieces are the ideas here. Love is the final heartache and the signs are pointing to waiting and apprehension. The use of sequencers is highly prevalent and tasteful. The dynamics are excellent and show how a disco record can be considered art. This is rock disguised as trance. It goes low and it goes high but it never leaves the boundaries of escape art. This band has been around for several decades and has put out many great albums. This is a departure as it veers into dance motifs, but never gives up the no-man foundation. A foundation that has a great history which is part of the English beat of the last 30 years. No-man can not release anything trivial and never have. If you review their catalog you will see its full of deep cuts that have emotion and heavy pop.

When I first listened to No-Man's Love you to Bits. I first thought that this was Disco Prog if that is even a thing. This album drives on its rhythm. The best parts are when the rhythm is moving and something is soloing. This album is categorized by Pieces and Bits. The First Part, BIts is happy, poppy in its mood. While pieces feel darker. This album reuses rhythms a lot.

Bit 1: A great song that starts with a synth rhythm that evolves as the song starts. It then adds drums making the rhythm even better. The vocals are what drive this track. There are no solos in this song. It is a nice disco-like beginning to this album. 7 out of 10

Bit 2: This track is ethereal and you can hear the last track's rhythm a bit muffled. This track is just here as a transition to the next one. The main focus here is Steven Wilson's vocals which are good and are just there to tell the story of the song. 4 out of 10 it's just boring.

Bit 3: this time the rhythm is run by the guitar and it's pretty good. The drums come pretty early. The vocal is pretty cool with the distortion in it. 7 out of 10 nothing wrong with this track is just too short.

Bit 4: This track continues with the guitar rhythm but it is slowly overtaken by the synth until the middle of the song when it slows a bit down and the guitar is gone and the synth is the only thing keeping it going. Then the guitar returns and a distorted electric guitar doing a solo. I don't enjoy distorted guitar but I have to say it's a good solo because it is fast and wild. you can tell that they were messing around with the guitar. The solo lasts until the end of the song. 7.9 The song focuses on the solo and I enjoy it very much but I can still say it's good.

Bit 5: The song is a repeat of Bit 1were the drum joins faster in the song until 2;38 where everything fades out slowly. the only thing left after the fade-out is the chorus and some sort of brass instrument. 7 out of 10 because it is a repeat of Bit 5 and it good transition to Pieces 1.

Pieces 1: starts with singing and just the Brass instruments. This causes some quarter of-second silence. It has a somber atmosphere. Then some simple synth joins but muffled or very quiet. This the sequence from Bit 1. Then the vocals come back and some more simple synth is added. It was still quiet until the 3:46 mark. then it returns. no drums in this song. 6 out of 10 It is a great tone-setter for the rest of the album but it can be considered boring by some.

Pieces 2: this starts with a new rhythm. some distorted singing comes in. Then a synth solo comes that reminds me of the Canterbury scene keyboards. The keyboards are really good and my favorite solo from this album. 8 out of 10 because of its keyboards.

Pieces 3: This track is a mix between Pieces 2 and Bit 1. good vocals. I don't know what to say 6 out of 10

Pieces 4: a soundscape like the one from Shine on you crazy diamond. then suddenly collapses through distortion. 5 out of 10. too short to judge.

Pieces 5: makes a soundscape then adds piano, drums, and vocals. It's like this for the whole song keeping that somber atmosphere. 5 out of 10

Verdict: It is a good album that has great sequences and uses them creatively, but this is a double-edged sword because it makes the album feel boring sometimes. I would recommend to people who want to hear disco prog but if you're here for the build-ups and payoff I would not recommend

The unexpected revival of the dormant WILSON-BOWNESS collaboration isn't quite the gem people were hoping for. Rather than a complex, multilayered album, or a minimalist set of introspective songs such as NO-MAN have given us before, this is more akin to ten house remixes of the one song. Fun, clever, even poignant in that self-revelatory way TIM BOWNESS has. But it's telling that this was turned out in a mutual break in their schedules, rather than being part of their schedule.

Is it any good? It's OK, but not essential by any means. Is it prog? Not really. It's a curio, rather out of place in the NO- MAN catalogue, but not surprising given WILSON'S chameleon-like tastes. If anything it harks back in form, if not quite in substance, to NO-MAN's earliest efforts. An interesting record by two professionals not trying very hard.

'Love You to Bits' is the new album from No-Man, or the art rock/pop duo of Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness, coming after an 11-year break. They decided to keep it short and sweet with this one, as we can appreciate the album length of 36 minutes. Just two long tracks are present on this album, or if you prefer, two cycles of shorter tracks (five for each composition) pretty much exploring the realm of 'progressive disco' (if such a term exists).

I feel like this album is much more indicative of where Wilson is musically, rather that Bowness who provides all leading vocals on 'Love You to Bits'.

As for the music, I must admit I enjoy listening to this album; it is quite lighthearted when compared with Wilson's past work. You get tons of synths, layered above each other; a drum machine (I guess most of the time) provides the catchy beat that goes on throughout the whole thing; funky bass and a frantic guitar solo which is such a Steven Wilson moment.

The two tracks are essentially conceptual, described perfectly as "Chronicling the aftermath of a relationship from different perspectives". Bowness does a good job vocalizing the supposed characters, as his emotive delivery is quite what this music needs. The songs are memorable but there are moments where it feels a bit forced, almost as if they tried really hard to get to the desired length. This results in passages of ambient intertwining with the main beat-driven dance rhythm of the record. However, this is a good album overall. But nothing more, at least for me.