THE HARMONY CODEX

'The Harmony Codex' is the latest addition to the ever-expanding Steven Wilson catalogue. This ambitious solo album comes after the general disappointment that 'The Future Bites' was, when Wilson incorporated techniques and sounds coming from synth pop and electronica (releasing a massive four-disc set full of new tracks, demos, covers, and what have you), and after the great return of Porcupine Tree (this time as a trio) with 'Closure/Continuation', an album that received rave reviews, deservedly.

'THC', however, sounds like none of these aforementioned albums, as Wilson likes to draw a clear line between his solo releases and the releases of the bands he's in, whether it be PT, No-Man, or Blackfield. In this sense his 'Codex' is quite unique, as it stands as the undoubtedly most stylistically diverse of all SW solo works, so much that it could hardly be classified into a specific category, meaning that his attempt to create a genre-less album has been successful. It could be described as the evolution of 'Hand. Cannot. Erase' through a filter of TFB, some Pink Floyd, and some 80s alt rock and art pop, if this makes any sense.

This is well portrayed by the unusual opener 'Inclination', a great track that builds up slowly, entirely instrumental in its first half, and pretty much not featuring any "real instruments", if tapes, sequencers, and computer programmed effect could be considered "unreal" instruments. The mood of this song fits the typical Wilson-esque melancholic dread that everyone goes to him for. This is followed by a beautiful ballad in the style of early 70s psych prog, featuring Ninet Tayeb, the fantastic Israeli female singer that has helped him very often in some of his best songs - 'What Life Brings' is a tranquil and somber, unlike the previous track on here. 'Economies of Scale' is one of the highlights on the album, and the best representation of what interests Wilson most musically. It sounds like an upgrade of one of the songs on TFB, it features beautiful vocals, a picturesque build-up and a fantastic experimental instrumental. 'Impossible Tightrope' is the big 10-minute prog and fusion extravaganza, once again featuring some great playing. It is worth noting that the cast of musicians contributing to this album is absolutely massive, as the listener could see the names of Adam Holzmann, Craig Blundell, David Kollar, Niko Tsonev, Nick Beggs, Pat Mastelotto, Guy Pratt and David Kosten, among many others in the liner notes. One must say that knowing this for sure takes away the experience of listening to a band performing its collective work, which, of course, this album is not. The desired genre-less final product might have motivated the large cast of guest musicians but this also results to an extent in a bit of a disconnection here and there, as something is surely missing, another dimension that can be felt on other SW solo albums, a sense of intimacy that might have slipped away somewhere.

'Rock Bottom' is a strong duet between Wilson and Ninet, another one of the stronger compositions on the album, once again very melancholic and downtempo. 'Beautiful Scarecrow' is interesting but is not the best thing Wilson has produced, as it falls a bit short on having a particular direction or moment of release. The title track is a 10-minute electronic sequence, strongly resembling something that could have been done by Tangerine Dream in the early 70s. All I could say is that this is one of the tracks I can hardly stand. 'Time is Running Out' sounds a bit uninspired, both lyrically and musically. 'Actual Brutal Facts' is a very grim electronic rock exploration, definitely something new for Wilson, curious addition to the album, that unfortunately could not have saved the second half of the 'Codex' from sounding infinitely more tedious than the first one. 'Staircase' is another longer song, finally quoting Pink Floyd again in the nylon guitar strumming that is in the background. Rock instrumentation mixes beautifully with the electronic soundscapes on this track, that sounds a most like a synthesis between HCE and TFB.

It is always great to have one of your favorite artists come back with a new album but the strength of 'The Harmony Codex' seems to me not corresponding to the hype created before its release. As a project it is quite ambitious, quite sonically bold and showcases Wison's musical interests in a perfect way but to me the album suffers from the missing element mentioned before, making it more difficult to connect to it. It is richly produced and bolsters a great sound, but the quality of the songs and the creativity have both suffered from the shifting of interest from musical material to sonic presentation.