THE OVERVIEW

When I watched Star Wars: Episode VIII for the first time in the cinema, there was silence. Nobody said anything, nobody clapped. I walked out the cinema unsure whether I actually liked what I had just experienced. I felt as though I should love what I just saw, deep down I did not. It was strange and unsettling. I had a similar feeling when I attended one of the preview events for The Overview in Mexico City. When the screening ended, the audience applauded. I hesitated but, in the end, I decided not to join in. Over time I developed the running joke that The Last Jedi is the worst movie in history. That said, the evolution of The Overview in my mind has gone in the opposite direction, I believe it is a very good record. It is neither a failed effort like To The bone, nor a scattered pastiche like The Harmony Codex. However, it is also not the progressive Wilson of The Raven, not even of Hand.Cannot.Erase. Musically, both tracks on The Overview, mainly the second one, feel like a continuation of his more recent work. Generally, I consider the first one slightly better, as it flirts with a sound reminiscent of Porcupine Tree's latest album. Then, there is the much-discussed format: two long tracks. The suites feel a bit disjointed, particularly on early listens, and I believe it is because they do not end the typical epic grand finale, but instead seem to fade into the void, drifting into long calm passages that abruptly despair. Still, I think the album's biggest limitation, and what keeps it from reaching the heights of Wilson's first four solo albums is the absence of band. Let me explain. This is very much a solo record. You can feel Wilson made it alone and brought it to life alone, in his room. What made The Raven and Hand.Cannot.Erase so powerful was that they sounded like a band, a truly magnificent group of musicians playing together. The Overview sounds like Steven Wilson by himself, for better or worse. It feels pieced together rather than performed and the spark that comes from collaboration, from musicians living and working together is missing. To sum up, The Overview offers a certain balance between progressive music, at least in its structure and modern Wilson sound. It is easy to listen to, surprisingly brief, which invites repeat plays. On the downside, it carries and sense of loneliness and recycles familiar musical language. It is an improvement over his recent works , but misses the energy, depth, emotional impact and even the sinister touches of Wilson most acclaimed records.

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