INSURGENTES

"INSURGENTES" is the beginning of Steven Wilson's solo career, and a solid effort to say the least. You can easily spot out some New Age influences, experimental, electronic, progressive, jazz, fusion, etc. There are so many influences here! That's one of my favorite things about Steven, though..

"Harmony Korine" is named after a European film writer/director that Steven appreciates greatly. Korine is known for his creepy, avant-garde screenplays. Direct influence? I think so. Come to think of it, Lasse Hoile's photography reminds of of Harmony Korine's material.. Anyways.. The classic Wilson falsetto vocals are beautiful, fused with the crunching guitar during the chorus and the acoustic passage in the beginning make this a very nice song. This was the single of the album, and for good reason. 10/10

"Abandoner" is a electronic oriented song that has some Porcupine Tree elements to it. Spooky vocal lines with surrealistic lyrics to add to the atmosphere. This song is pretty underrated in my opinion.. 9/10

"Salvaging" is one of Steven's more experimental songs. A recurring guitar riff with some harmonized vocals, and various effects give this song an electronic, New Age-ish feel to it. Pretty decent song, though not one of my favorites.. 7/10

"Veneno Para las Hadas" One of my favorites, very reminiscent of "THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS". The synths and vocal style remind me very much of that song, which is a huge plus for me. A nice little ballad. 10/10

"No Twilight Within The Courts of The Sun" reminds me a lot of a King Crimson jam session for some reason. Has a definite proggy feel to it. Intense jam session during the middle of the song, then coming back to the main riff. 7/10

"Significant Other" is actually my favorite on the album. The chorus is mixed to magical perfection. Hear this gem on a nice system or a decent pair of headphones, folks. 10/10

"Only Child" is probably my least favorite and least played on the album. It just never sank in with me. I don't really like Wilson's voice in his deeper tones. The instrument sections were too repetitive, as well. 6/10

"Twilight Coda" is definitely some heavy experimentation by Wilson. I think he composed it to provoke some imagery, if anything. I don't like saying Steven wrote a song for filler, but it kind of feels like that was the case here. Other than imagery, it has no purpose. Still awesome sounding though.. 7/10

"Get All You Deserve" is yet another experimental song. Starts off as a ballad, and works it way(somehow..) into a hysterical experimental jam session. Didn't really enjoy the middle/end of this song. Beginning is beautiful though.. 7/10

"INSURGENTES" is a full-on ballad of Wilson proportions. Melancholy and beautiful at the same time. He came around at the end of the album with a song that had a direction to it without any experimentation; I was glad about this. 9/10

I gave it 3 stars because it is definitely a solid release from Mr. Wilson, and I recommend it to fans of Mike Oldfield and Porcupine Tree. I just wish it were a bit less experimental. Now, don't get me wrong, i LOVE experimental in the likes of Gentle Giant, but they make it work in a way that's different than Steven. I just don't know how to explain it. So, do yourself a favor and pick this CD up and give it a few spins. Since it is Wilson we're talking about here, get the physical disk and pop that baby in a nice sound system, you'll be thoroughly impressed.

Overall, 3/5