INSURGENTES

Steven Wilson released his first solo album under his own name (he had released solo albums before, but they were under some sort of other name, eg Bass Communion), named Insurgentes in 2009. Some people were a bit confused as to why he would do this, as Wilson had explored pretty much all the genres of music he liked in other projects. Why would he release this one under his own name? Well, musically, this album is like a mix of Bass Communion and Porcupine Tree. There's lots of noise and electronic music influence, as well as rock.

Wilson's talent is definitely visible on this album, not necessarily in his actual playing or vocals, but in the songwriting. Some of the songs have quite odd structures (eg. Salvaging) which suits the unconventional style of the music. This makes for a lot of unexpected twists and turns in the music, which is one of the reasons that I love this album.

This album is unique in comparison to other Steven Wilson albums because of its sound. The fusion of electronic, noise and rock music done in the particular fashion that Wilson has done on this album is not something which he has done many times before. The music feels very 'clever' in a way, because in my opinion, the album has a fantastic track list and dispersion of songs. What I mean by this is that I feel that there are the right peaks at the right time, and the right quiet songs at the right time. This gives the feeling that the album is an hour (around about) long experience, rather than just a collection of songs.

I can't really comment much about the lyrics on this album. This is for two reasons: 1. The lyrics aren't printed in the CD booklet, and they're hard to hear in the music. 2. Wilson himself said that most of the lyrics on Insurgentes don't really mean much, but that they are there just to add another texture to the music.

I'll now go into a deeper analysis of each track: Harmony Korine is the most Porcupine Tree-like song on the album (apart from perhaps the title track) due to the heavy rock guitars, and prominent drums. It has fantastic verses and choruses. It sets the mood for the album: desolation, aloneness, bleakness.

Abandoner starts with an electronic beat, with bass beats and cracking sounds. Wilson's vocals sound untuned and melancholic over the electronic sound of the keys. This is one of the songs that has an odd structure; it starts with the vocals, then progresses into a section that has pulsing electronic keyboard sounds with an ambient, Bass Communion-esque sound in the background. Very unexpectedly, a very loud distorted guitar sounds and takes over all other sounds. The song basically continues in this fashion until the near the end where it goes quiet again. It confirms the listener's thoughts that this album is going to have many turns and strange moments.

The start of Salvaging is almost Swans-like, with a guitar riff repeated over and over again, while the drums and other instruments build the tension and volume behind it. The vocals are not too loud, and again give the desolate feeling that the first two songs gave so well. This continues for a while until the loudness disappears and there is a beautiful string interlude. This tranquillity is soon lost, as the loudness of the start of the song takes over again and closes the track.

Veneno Para Las Hadas, in my opinion, is the most beautiful song on the album. Glorious, lush soundscapes with vocals singing an amazing, shining melody is what we receive from this track. Meanwhile the bass is contributing to the main beat of the song. Clarinet is added to the mix to make it even more beautiful. The gentle 'aahh'-ing of Wilson's voice makes this track just perfect.

No Twilight in the Courts of the Sun starts with the bass guitar and drums playing, sounding slightly jazzy and improvisational. The complex 21/8 beat (I think?) confuses the listener a bit until they get a hold of it. There's some guitar soloing on top of the beat provided by the bass and drums. It gradually gets more intense, until a distorted guitar comes into play, and it hits a peak of intensity. The music suddenly gets very quiet, with Wilson's distorted vocals quietly sung over the bass guitar. The song continues with loud and quiet parts alternating. Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater provides a piano solo towards the end. One of the standout tracks on the album.

Significant Other opens sounding quite Blackfield-like, with Wilson's soothing vocals singing a gentle melody. The song builds more tension and gets to a great chorus (if you could call it that). A glockenspiel plays the main melody of the song at the end. Another great track.

The drums are quite prominent in Only Child, as is the bass guitar. The song opens a bit like the Porcupine Tree song Hatesong, and continues this way for the whole song, with the drums and bass taking a big role in the mix.

Twilight Coda is the shortest track on the album, clocking in at only three minutes and twenty-five seconds. It has that feeling of bleakness to it. An acoustic guitar quietly introduces the main theme/melody of the song and is later accompanied by other acoustic guitars, with gentle piano in the background.

Get All You Deserve begins sounding gloomy, and, as in Abandoner, Wilson's untuned vocals provide a sense of unease in the listener. The melody that he's singing is actually quite beautiful. The tension builds throughout the song, as an electronic bass beat plays a very odd sounding pulse beat that's very confusing. The sounds of noise music take over in the second half of the song while the drums stat consistent with a beat in the background. It gets very intense, especially right at the end when all other instruments drop away and we have a loud and very mechanical noise sound.

The title track is very much like the Porcupine Tree song Collapse the Light Into Earth. It's got calm and beautiful piano and singing, and closes the album on a good note.

Overall: This is a fantastic album. It isn't necessarily for a Porcupine Tree fan, but if you delve into the music, you will be rewarded. 5/5