THE FUTURE BITES

Finally, this is it, the new Steven Wilson's album. A year later and with more than half of the songs released as singles. So, what does it sounds like?

Edit: Now that I have listened to the Deluxe edition Box I can tell you that some of the best songs are in it, and would rise the note to 4 stars.

01. Unself (9/10) - Ok, it is short and it stops when it reaches the high point, and yet is one of the best songs of the album. Actually, the long version of the deluxe edition serves more like an ambiental continuation of this.

02. Self (6.5/10) - Right in your stomach, the beauty of the first track is destroyed by this experimental-electronic-indie piece. Not bad, the chorus is infectious!

03. King ghost (7/10) - Another electronic piece, this one with a very powerful chorus. What I don't like are the processed vocals and the spoken words.

04. Twelve things I forgot (7/10) - This one changes the mood and we are taken to the pop territory. Too much. I would have appreciated a small psychedelic twist, or at least a good guitar solo.

05. Eminent Sleaze (7.5/10) - Back to the synth pop. Here the voice of Steven reminds me of John Frusciante's in one of his solo albums. I love the verses and the rythm, but in the end the whole song feels like it could have much more potential.

06. Man of the people (9.5/10) - This is the SW we all know. Even with the synthesized drums this is the best song of the album. Great crescendo towards the end.

07. Personal shopper (7.5/10) - The longest song of the album is just an illusion. A well constructed piece of synth pop that again feels undeveloped. Catchy chorus though.

08. Follower (8/10) - Modern pop with few interesting experiments in it.

09. Count of unease (7.5/10) - A good ambiental track, with Wilson experimenting with some sounds in the second half.

B-sides, Deluxe edition tracks (remixes excluded, as they add little to the original versions in my opinion):

10. Haa-Bloody ha (8/10) - A classic SW song driven by acoustic guitar. It breaks into an ambiental/electronic soundscape in the middle. Very good! Reminds me of Porcupine Tree.

11. Move like a fever (6.5/10) - Modern electronica, almost dubstep. I like the base, but it is too repetitive for me. It goes more melodic towards the end. Still feeling that the idea could have been developed better.

12. Eyewitness (7.5/10) - another electronic track, reminds me of Depeche Mode. I love the voice of Steven here. Really feels ike the perfect B-side to Emient Sleaze.

13. In floral green (9.5/10) - Yep, it is a cover, and is the second best song of the album.

14. Hey Sleeper (9/10) - This one is only vinyl exclusive. Very reminiscent of Porcupine tree again!

15. I am cliche (6/10) - How to mix electronic and heavy guitars. Not (very) bad.

16. Wave the white flag (9/10) - Another Porcupine tree infected song. Love the acoustic guitar and the psychedelic efects. Perfect!

17. In pieces (8.5/10) - Obscure and really good synth pop. Feels like a collaboration of Depeche mode, Porcupine Tree and Franz Ferdinand.

18. Every kingdom falls (7/10) - An ambiental song with a strong post rock vibe. Again, the voice of Steven is the best instrument here.

Overall, a good album, plenty of good moments. Give it time, and listen to the B-sides and extra material if you want to hear more of the classic Steven Wilson. Recommended!

The Future Bites has been teased for the past 2 years and this is the result of waiting for about 4 years after To The Bone, the album that has grown on me quite a bit. The tone and genre of this album is much more elegant and synthpop than the previous album, the previous was much more a Tears For Fears type album.

I actually really really enjoyed this album, very very much. This was definitely not a prog album by any means of the imagination, but still damn good.

UNSELF: A very nice intro with ambiance and amazing guitars, well done. 2.5/2.5

SELF: Amazing continuation on the track unself, really well done yet again. 2.5/2.5

KING GHOST: Loved this track a lot, its soft, catchy, the production on this track is absolutely through the roof. 5/5

12 THINGS I FORGOT: Probably my favourite track on this album, I love the tone of this track, its just a beautiful track, even though it sounds like a track from the previous album To The Bone, still amazing. 5/5

EMINENT SLEAZE: Well, still good but not amazing, I'm just not that much of a fan of this track. This sounds like if Pink Floyd and Michael Jackson came together to make something moderately ok, still good but not amazing. 4/5

PERSONAL SHOPPER: Hmmm... ok, so the longest track on the album just happens to be the worst track in my opinion. So its good, but just too long for the way its done. I love the harmonies and the acoustic guitars in the middle of the track, its very Steven Wilson but not that great because its just too long. 6/10

MAN OF THE PEOPLE: Amazing amazing amazing, love this track a lot! Its like Pink Floyd's Welcome to the Machine mixed with Keane's Sunshine. Amazing. 5/5

FOLLOWER: Not bad, just again not my favourite, not very memorable, altogether, one of the lesser tracks. 3/5

COUNT OF UNEASE: Loved this track so so much, its slow, longer, atmospheric, just a great great track. 5/5

Overall I think this album was a great introduction to 2021.

Total Grade: 34/40 Percentage Grade: 85% Rating: Excellent addition to any prog rock collection

I discovered STEVEN WILSON for the first time in 2002 with the release of the album "In Absentia" by PORCUPINE TREE. I didn't know anything about this band until this revelation which literally changed my view of contemporary prog music. Since then I have not stopped accumulating everything that relates directly and indirectly to this group but especially to him! To this man who upset the status of Prog music from the end of the last century until the new millennium, to this modern poet with teeming talents, this extraordinary multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound engineer, in short a complete artist who never stops to work, create and innovate. We can say it STEVEN WILSON is an obsessed ... a freak of perfection who lives only by music and for music, but also from time to time for others, participating fully or appearing in bands like NO -MAN, BLACKFIELD and BASS COMMUNION. But this gentleman does not stop there ... he also remixes, and not just anything! Take a look at this non-exhaustive list of names ... well I hope so! : MARILLION, GENTLE GIANT, YES, CHICAGO, JETHRO TULL, ROXY MUSIC, ELP, TANGERINE DREAM, KING CRIMSON, RUSH, XTC ... but I wonder where the hell did GENESIS go in this list of giants?

These remixes have become benchmarks for fans and have achieved a worldwide reputation among audiophiles. When I look at the journey of our luminary I can not help but think of TOM YORK, the singer and leader of the group RADIOHEAD, for his tempered, rebellious and self-sufficient temperament, with his constant changes of styles and genres, confusing both his aficionados and the musicians of his own group. Now that the introductions and the praises are done, when is it for the seventh and new album? Is it different from "To The Bone" released in 2017, an opus classified as Crossover Prog with a marked shift towards Pop music ?! A rumor is circulating among the progressive population ... the publication of "The Future Bites" would not be unanimous because it would be about to leave the progressive galaxy at the speed of a thousand bits per second, and that it would approach dangerously close to the nebula called "no return". Let's take a closer look at which musical zone this brand-new ship sails.

"Unself" is a short intro of 1:05, a kind of demo for an appetizer with an acoustic guitar and reverberating vocals in a cold and sidereal space, only a brief little melody sung will give some warmth to this " no man's land ". "Self" invites us to dance in the company of young women singing in chorus with STEVEN WILSON in "moody" mode, in an artificial and electronic atmosphere, accompanied by a guitar with industrial sounds. We could imagine ourselves in a nightclub where we would see robots wiggle their hips and have fun with us as this music seems futuristic (8/10). "King Ghost" is a sublime piece, where the vocal cords of our singer deliver us magic and hallucinating falsets of beauty. Electronic manipulation had to be employed to achieve such a surprising result. Synthetic effects and electro beat music we will escort under guard throughout this original piece (9.5 / 10). "12 Things I Forgot" is a song to be placed in the purest pop tradition as KEAN or TRAVIS could play. Piano, dry guitar, and a small synth in the background to accompany a cheerful and catchy melody, this small ensemble will make us glimpse a return to a near past (7.5 / 10).

"Eminent Sleaze" puts us back in an electronic bath richly provided in genres, like groove, soul, dance ... A voice with an air of BLACK SABBATH and an articulation like PRINCE take us on female throats grooving with force and conviction. Funky passages and some guitar riffs will complement this opus with efficient and classy chords (8.5 / 10). On "Man of the People" STEVEN WILSON sings and vocalizes like never before, all smoothly and subtly. On typically pop tunes he sends us a beautiful calm and sunny ballad, with here a particularly highlighted voice (8/10). The title song "Personal Shopper" which is already a planetary hit tells us about consumerism and its excesses. A heady and organic chorus will be illustrated by so British humor performed by ELTON JOHN rhyming on a list of unnecessary items during shopping time. His intervention will not bring much more apart from breaking the recurring linearity present in this piece. Despite everything, this track displays a particularly successful mix of electro pop and dance that I will not place in the list of useless (8.5 / 10).

At the very beginning of "Follower" we hear a soundtrack from a weather newspaper where the announcer speaks in French and says: "on the side of" and stops abruptly ...? This track presents passages that make me think of PLACEBO and YES, for the well-rhythmic Pop Rock side and for the harmonious choirs heard on the album "Fly From Here" with a reminder of the song "Detonation" on the album "To The Bone". This well-composed piece contains all the ingredients to satisfy both pop and prog fans with harmonious and catchy choruses! (9.5 / 10). In "Count of Unease" STEVEN WILSON scratches an unidentified metallic object I suppose acting as a drums under morphine. Here everything is languor and fullness, the song moves nicely in a monotonous slowness with instruments seeming frozen in a score with an atmospheric atmosphere. It's lovely and soothing! (8.5 / 10).

STEVEN WILSON says it himself: "The Future bites" is his "Let's Dance", the album which allowed DAVID BOWIE to reach the general public, but which made him lose his fans of the first hour. "After several hours of listening have I lost one of my idols or my attraction for this artist ...? Negative my dear WILSON! Obviously here we are moving far enough away from "The Raven That Refused To Sing", as well in the spirit than in style. And the prog style that he proposed to us with his electric guitar solos and his jazzy developments have unfortunately disappeared here from his repertoire which has become somewhat minimalist. But his desire for creation remains immutable, his fury of 'writing and composing remain intact, whatever the medium or the genres used. His leitmotif is to surprise, and there I can say it, he pleasantly surprised me again. Because his silversmith's voice always makes me happy. wiggle the eustachian tubes until I become encrusted with serious earworms. he innovative and contemporary chords have the capacity to transcend the genre with concrete production and mixing. I suggest STEVEN WILSON never stop composing while he is singing with this perfection, because in the end it doesn't matter which bottle ... her voice is her finest instrument, and everything revolves around her with its magnificent melodies worthy of the "Fab Four"! I don't consider "The Future Bites" to be his best album, but I will definitely come to his next gig. I had to attend the one scheduled for September 2019, but unfortunately canceled for reasons everyone knows. Do as I did, over-consume by getting your multi-disc box and unnecessary items at an inflated price, and when the time comes, don't hesitate to visit him during a concert, with it seems a grandiose show at the key!

Watching the Steven Wilson [&*!#]show over the past year or two has been nothing short of hilarious. From Wilson's bold proclamations of not enjoying "guitar music" (what a vague descriptor) anymore, to criticizing several past Porcupine Tree releases, to making a cover of a Taylor Swift song, all the talk of fanbase alienation and entitled prog snobs has made for pretty entertaining discourse. Let's face it: no matter what Wilson was going to release next, he was going to be closely scrutinized and attacked accordingly. If he made another To the Bone, people would accuse him of treading water artistically. If he made another Raven Who Refused to Sing, a bunch of fans would say "stop worshipping the 70s so much" just like a lot of them did the first time. If he reformed Porcupine Tree, a lot of people would criticize him for trying to recapture past glories. And now with The Future Bites, he's being reprimanded for "abandoning his prog fans."

So honestly, I don't mind the fact that he's sticking to his guns when it comes to this new album. He's chosen a new direction, and he's been pretty damn firm on committing to it. After all, much of Wilson's career has been built on reinventing his sound and image, whether that be the psych>alternative>metal progression heard on Porcupine Tree or the decade-hopping he's done with his solo material. Despite the length of the lead-off single "Personal Shopper," it was pretty clear with that song that his next move was to lean into that pop persona he'd been gradually morphing into. But throughout the entire runtime of the song, I couldn't help but feel as though Wilson was getting way too close to self-parody; both with the lyrics and the pointless spoken-word Elton John feature. The track serves as a general thesis statement of the album and its promotional material, in that it criticizes several facets of consumerism and bandwagoning and yet it's set to music that's largely meant for more mass appeal than his previous efforts (again, song length aside).

And believe me, this problem never goes away for the rest of the record. Wilson has constantly been pushing the point that he wants to follow his own muse and not care what the fans think, and yet he's constantly promoting this album with critic scores and TikTok videos as if it's the next big pop culture event. It's causing a large disconnect between his intentions and the quality of the music itself, despite the fact that there's a number of decent tracks here. The bluesy laid-back "Eminent Sleaze" recalls the best vibes of "Have a Cigar" by Pink Floyd, and "Man of the People" has beautifully melancholic guitar chords and an almost No-Man inspired dreamlike first half; however even these songs are never allowed to build to anything interesting because of Wilson's firm commitment to keeping things more concise and compact. Just imagine if the sleek, icy atmosphere in "Man of the People" built up to something akin to post-rock, as if the whole thing was crescendoing into a wider and more lush soundscape. Instead, we get an uninspired second half driven by a cheap-sounding drum beat and boring chord progressions.

I have to clarify here that I don't mind if Wilson makes a pop record. Plenty of his past albums, such as Stupid Dream and the first two Blackfield albums, were great examples of retaining pop sensibilities while maintaining a clear focus and identity. But this is the first album of his that I can actually consider a bit... confused. A lot of people try and pin part of the blame on the previous record To the Bone and its poppier sensibilities, but I beg to differ. The majority of that album's songs at least went to some interesting places by the time they were done, especially the poppier ones. "Pariah" is basically what "Man of the People" should have been, as it eventually exploded into a beautifully vibrant climax guided by Ninet's voice. "Permanating," on the other hand, was a much-needed dose of levity to lift up the listener's spirit. The Future Bites, unfortunately, lacks these moments in spades. "King Ghost" just lumbers along aimlessly over the same dull drum track and annoying falsetto wails with no interesting climax, and "12 Things I Forgot" is just a boring MOR alt-rock piece that doesn't do anything special other than to be a nondescript cross between Coldplay and the newer (see: worst) moments of Blackfield. As a pop record, this album really could have used something as light-hearted as a "Permanating." Even "Follower" and "Self," with the former's harder edge and the latter's enjoyable female vocals, still don't compare.

The Future Bites isn't terrible or anything, but it's painfully average and represents a huge step down from Wilson's previous studio records. It takes itself too seriously to be a fun joyous pop record - especially with the forced and hypocritical commentary it incorporates - and it's too boring and aimless to be a worthwhile artistic statement. I don't think Wilson necessarily "abandoned his fans" here musically, but I do think he abandoned several of the principles that made him so appealing to begin with. Yes, he's always had shallow social commentary on past albums; as much as I love Fear of a Blank Planet, that was always my biggest problem with it. But it's never been as misguided or self-defeating as it is here, and it just makes for a more dour experience than it could have been. Let's just hope that Wilson's direction - both musically and lyrically - is more focused and more sound next time? and that it doesn't take another 3-4 years to put that album out.

An album that explores another of his many faces, delving into beautiful and haunting synth pop SONGS with glorious arrangements and acute socia criticism. This is an album that PROGRESSES from his former sound and fits right into the progressive rock concept of PROGRESSING forward as in PROGRESSIVE ROCK. But looking at other reviews it seems that the concept for some of progressive rock is making the same sounding album every time for decades. But those who really give it a listen and who understand that music is more than long songs with synths and hammond organ will find that the album is striking, original and the logical progression of an artist like Steven WIlson.

This release is the mind of SW reflected in electronics. He has been trending toward pop rock for the last few years and is actually going back to his roots, ie No-Man from thirty years ago. If one listened to Steven in the early 90's this is exactly what he sounded like. Now he is even more sarcastic and judgmental being much older, his views on society have hardened. He wants to let everyone know we now live in a world where people look at small computer screens instead of the stars in the sky. In his world he greatly admires pop artists. This is his foundation with heavy influences of Bowie and ABBA. He believes an artist should explore multiple genres and he is doing just that. Short pop songs can still have a depth and beauty if crafted with integrity. That sums up this album. It is a true SW record of synth pop in the style of the great artists he admires. 3 stars.

*Steven Wilson calls Elton John*

Steve: Hi Elton, it's Steve Elton: Oh Hi Steven Steve: I've got this song I would like you to appear on Elton: Oh ok, send it through and I can see what I can do Steve: Great, I'll email you a list of household items and I want you to read them out Elton: That's different but I'll go for it

Disclaimer: This is not the actual conversation but more of how imagine it. To me its completley surreal this collaberation actually happened. Elton John is a mega, megastar. But it does show just how far Steven Wilson has come in his rise and just how well respected he is within the music industry. Many call him the music industries best kept secret. But with each album he just seems to gather more and more momentum. And that is really saying something for someone who has been making albums for the last 30 years through the likes of Porcupine Tree, No-Man, Blackfield as well as remastering a whole load of other albums by other artists.

The thing is as well is that his early stuff wasn't that well received by the mainstream and it wasn't becasue it was bad. In my opinion it was awesome. And that's coming from someone who has followed him since 1999 when Porcupine Tree's "Stupid Dream" came out. It's more he makes more challenging music, venturing into prog mainly as well as other genres which tend not to have mainstream appeal.

But anyway enough of an introduction. This is about his 6th solo album "THE FUTURE BITES" which was due for release June 2020 but due to covid was put back to late January 2021. Whether this was a good move remains to be seen as I think the purpose with delaying it was so the tour would coincide more the release. But at the time of writing covid hasn't gone away and looks like tours are a way off yet.

The first song which was released of "THE FUTURE BITES" was "Personal Shopper" which stands at nearly 10 minutes. And my, my its a rollercoaster. Not only that but in this day and age where you feel there is not much more artists can be different to what has come before. Wilson comes up with this. What makes it so unique is the Abba esque style vocals for the choruses in the song. It is well known Wilson is a huge Abba fan and the influnece really shines through on this one. He did hint at this in his last album "Bones" through the pop genius which was "Permanating" but now he uses the Abba esque vocals, then mixes it with his own vocals in a prog fused upbeat and just dam right glorius track. And from the top of this review you saw the pretend conversation with Elton John. Well this is the track which he appears on. I would go as far to say nothing comes close and this track feels so unique, not just to his own music but also to prog music generally.

There is another track on the album with female Abba esque vocals through "Eminent Sleaze" but its just 4 minutes and while a good track nowhere near as epic. To be honest I was so excited about the direction Wilson took with "Personal Shopper", I wanted the whole album to sound like that. To be fair doing that sort of style is a big risk in terms of going off on a different direction and risking losing fans. So doing a whole album like that may have been too big a gamble. But to be fair he does still seem to have taken gambles with this album as a whole. There is a lot more keyboards on this and also "Personal Shopper" really is the stand out epic with most of the other tracks sitting at about 4 minutes long.

In fact it is just a 42 minute album with 9 tracks. The first track "Unself" is just a minute long. Two other tracks which stand out for me are "12 THINGS I FORGOT" AND "FOLLOWER". Both really upbeat tracks which are just so unbelievably good. The are essentially pop rock songs but have Wilson's add complexities he drives into each song as he keeps pushing boundaries. And that boundary is pushed even more with last track "COUNT OF UNEASE". This is just beautiful. Wilson just slows things right down with a 6 minutee chill out/phase out track. If you have had a busy day and just need to slow right down and relax. Put this track on and you will feel such a sense of calm.

When I first heard the other singles like "King Ghost" and "Man of People" I wasn't totally blown away. And to be honest I am surprised "FOLLOWER" wasn't released as a single. But these tracks do act as stepping stones on an album which builds and builds as it goes on. Then with "Personal Shopper", "Follower" and "Count of Unease" you have a 3 track combo to finish off the album which is hard to beat; both in terms of the diversity of the music as well as the sheer quality. Having just looked up wikipedia to find there is a delux version of the album it looks good but a bit expensive. Extended versions of 3 of the songs including Personal Shopper which is a 20 minute version! along with 7 other tracks. Hopefully these tracks will be accessible in the future at a cheaper price.

Now this is a stinker. Back when "The Future Bites" was announced, Steven Wilson told the press how experimental this record would have been. Paradoxically this is one of his most derivative albums ever: "Man of the People" sounds like a rewritten version of "Welcome to the machine" by Pink Floyd, "Eminent Sleaze" sounds like a bad mix of "Have a Cigar", a Prince song and some Bowie stuff from his Berlin days. Again, "12 things that I forgot" sounds like a Coldplay song that could have been released in 2005, not exactly experimental eh? The first half of "Follower" sounds like Kasabian and then it becomes something that The Who could have been recording for their 1978 album "Who Are You". Not very innovative neither the themes that are the core of this concept album: how bad consumerism is, how bad capitalism is, how the media control our collective mind and so on. (All themes dealt with since the 70's by tons of releases and other artists). Anyway the real trouble to put it simply, is that "The Future Bites" sounds dull, uninspired. No great melodies, no interesting chords progressions. It is unrelevant how interesting and smart your concept album is, if your songs lack quality. Matter of fact this release counts on quantity, not quality: it's like Wilson decided to mix 75 different influences to just make one song at the time and ending up with little results. Just like meshing Oranges, Apples, Bananas, Rice, Spices, Milk, Cheese, Tomatoes and God knows what to end up with an indigestible meatloaf that tastes terrible. "The Future Bites" is chaotic, for how inconsistent and little homogeneous is; poorly written, pretentious in its intents and approximate. A real come down from his previous work "To the Bone" which may not have been his best album, but had quality and interesting ideas.

For those bemoaning the electronic, synth pop elements - it's a social critique album centered on today's (and tomorrows) culture. The clue is in the title, really wouldn't make sense if it was an hour of mellotron and guitar solos would it?

For those saying its derivative - I have no doubt that's entirely the point. In a weird way its what makes the album good. The juxtaposition of the critical lyrics against the catchy earworm melodies, particularly on Personal Shopper, is perfect as a middle finger to consumer culture.

Many many albums out there today tackle the big issues of social media, consumerism, influencer culture, mental health and self esteem. Most of them do it by coming across as deep thinkers, creating metaphors for a single issue across an entire album, and making you think too much. Wilson keeps it simple - just calling it all b****cks. Its not an example of a well-constructed multi-dimensional prog masterpiece. But it's not supposed to be. It's a parody of the 'lowest common denominator' self-centred consumer culture we find ourselves in, and it works.

It's a pretty good album, just not a progressive masterpiece. I still feel this is quite prog, but in the same way some of 80's Genesis albums were also mostly prog, just not the same stuff that has been made before by their creators.

The Future Bites has a strong Jamiroquai-esque + Pink Floyd elements in this record which, for me, it's really interesting since I enjoy a lot both bands. The PF influence shows especially in some chords progressions and the way the backvocals are used. (Eminent Sleaze, Man of the People and 12 Things I forgot) As for Jamiroquai, sonically, this is a lot similar to their last album Automaton, using of similar eletronic textures and lots of grooving.

On the negative side, 42 minutes feels too short for a Steven Wilson album. Some of these songs feels like they could have an extended solo or a longer instrumental section. I'm not asking for another 55 min rollercoaster, but the songs here are really good and most of them feels undeveloped, especially the first 3 ones.

Also, unfortunately, what we get is just a "guitar noise solo" in songs like Self and Personal Shopper. I love the way SW creates guitar solos, even if he's not a really skilled guitar player, but here his performance is really timid and more about textures and effects.

Anyway, it's far from my favorite SW album, but I find this to be a nice step up from his previous effort, To The Bone. Worst song for me goes for Follower, which is veery SW by the numbers. My favorite currently is Man of the People.

To begin with, it must be said that the sound and production are truly magnificent. You can tell that it is a job in which the sound is very worked and very careful. The truth is that the multichannel experience makes you discover sounds and textures that are lost when listening to streaming. This is what I expected, on the other hand, since it is Mr. Wilson's house brand.

About the music. Well, my opinion is ambivalent. This work represents a change of course from a progressive rock based on guitars and keyboards towards a more commercial techno-pop with much more presence of synthesizers. This is not a radical change, on the other hand, since in his two previous works the increasing presence of these elements was already seen.

This is an album that is sure to cause controversy and some disaffection among Steven Wilson fans who perhaps expected something more traditional or in the style of classic progressive rock.

But on the other hand, I think Wilson is right exploring other sounds and textures. It is a way that your language does not become obsolete and that you do not end up repeating yourself ad nauseam.

And in the end, the style you use I think it doesn't matter a bit. The important thing is that what you have to tell is original, imaginative and that it says something relevant ... it does not matter if it is rock, jazz, techno or orchestral ...

In this case, I think Wilson does the play relatively well. Within those electro-pop clothes on this album, the melodies and especially the textures that have made this man a truly great musician are revealed. And of course, as I said, the production and the sound are really magnificent.

I don't think this work is going to be among Wilson's masterpieces. There are moments, perhaps, when it seems that the packaging is more important than the content, but it is an album with good quality and original moments and good developments. An interesting album that wins with listening. Of course, you have to listen to it without prejudice or preconceived ideas, which is not as easy as it seems.

The act of "crossing over" in music - a term that specifically implies bridging the gap between pop and another given genre, usually where the latter is the artist's usual idiom - is always fraught. Within my broad scope of listening, I am quite familiar with the backlash that any given musician or band tends to receive for doing so, whatever their intentions or the ultimate results of going pop. Furthermore, the path that Steven Wilson has gone on to embrace electronic pop rock is itself not surprising or particularly unique. I think of the career trajectory of a quite different group, Arcade Fire, whose last two studio LPs Reflektor and Everything Now were polarizing for fans as they moved into ever more synth-based, danceable indie pop. Thing is, Arcade Fire have always been a rather poppy, anthemic band, even as they once used Old World instruments like mandolins, accordions, and hurdy- gurdys. Those records should not have been that unexpected. Swilson, as has been mentioned above, has flirted with crossover elements for more than two decades, so The Future Bites does not shock or faze me. The problem - and there obviously is one - is that he hasn't always been the best at it. While Porcupine Tree crossed over well, I've never been a fan of Blackfield and I find Hand Cannot Erase and To The Bone to be outright embarrassing. To the point, I find The Future Bites to be some of his best prog pop to date and a welcome shake up after his last few solo albums, but it is still a rather flawed record that shows some of his deepest weaknesses.

Part of what holds back TFB is how he uses the electro-pop elements. These are in-and-of-themselves handled well enough but are also run of the mill for the genre. Wilson and his backing musicians do little to differentiate most of the album from similar artists. This is not to say that I don't enjoy most of it, as they thump and arpeggiate their dour cries, yet it is not as gripping as you'd hope. Indeed, the bonus cuts are some of the best and most unique of the project, with excellent electronics and sometimes even replete with his guitar, played in ways new to him. Furthermore, "Unself" really should have been the longer version included in the deluxe package. More interesting instrumentally is the back half of the record, as it unfolds into some of Wilson's best takes on his unnervingly blissful kind of prog with "Follower" and "Count of Unease", modern updates on what made his '70s revivalism so successful driven by piano and dark old-school synths. "Personal Shopper" is also the best of the album's pop on every level, given a dystopian, happy-go-lucky beat that gives the cut thematic whiplash and power.

As to the lyrics, there are also mixed results. Whereas in the past Wilson has often struggled to connect his lyrics with the concepts he builds many of his projects around, he has achieved synergy on TFB, as he gives his own darker answer to the aforementioned Everything Now's critique of clout and consumerism via a quasi-concept of a titular megacorporation. Again, "Personal Shopper" shows particular strength through the repetitious verses of buying for esteem and country. On the other hand, these are overall some of his weakest and most cliched lyrics to date, even for him. Try to tell me that you didn't expect him to rhyme "take it" with "fake it" as soon as you heard the former on "Man of The People"! And even then, most of the thematic resonance of the record comes from the music videos more than the actual songs.

Going into listening to The Future Bites, I was obviously struck by the hostility to the pop elements, but upon hearing it I can understand why. It's one thing to hold your nose to that kind of music, but while TFB demands progheads have an open mind to other genres, it also demands of all listeners a willingness to take it, warts and all, in service of a solid concept and decent songs. Even after HCE and TTB, and even as I don't expect Wilson to stick to a given kind of prog, I expect him to make magic with the genres he works with, and there are only flashes of that on The Future Bites. Or to describe it the way I did on my first listen: "It's fine". Nothing more.

"The Future Bites" is a brilliant album, one of the highlights of Steven Wilson's huge discography.

I'll discuss the pop/sell-out discussion only briefly. Yes, it's pop and no, it's not a sell-out and I don't care either way. Musically, the album is first and foremost a reflection of Wilson's life-long appreciation of pop music but he has released albums that are much more pop-oriented (earliest and latest no-man, Blackfield, even some Porcupine Tree songs). In general, the album is not as huge a departure from "To the Bone" as you might think. Most importantly, though, it's a great piece of work on many many levels.

What makes an album great are the songs, as in ? tunes. Here, every song has something that makes it stand out and many of those elements are precisely the ones I see criticized in reviews. Examples: the ABBA-like vocals in "Eminent Sleaze", the falsetto vocalizations in "King Ghost", the drum machine-based arrangements. Also, the strength of "12 Things I Forgot", although it is indeed the most PT-like song on the album, lies in its poppy melody and smooth arrangement, not in its similarity to PT. It's a brilliant radio-friendly pop song.

Easily the best song on the album is "Personal Shopper", just listen to the 'Consumer of life?' section: the intelligent and funny ironic lyrics, Wilson's The Lonely Island-like delivery, the hook ? such things are a rarity in music and disregarding this kind of brilliance because you expect "Raven"-style prog workouts equals to being intentionally blind to quality music. But even if you miss some PT, the section narrated by Elton John (whose spoken voice is really rich and pleasant) is pure atmospheric Wilson of old. Where the song excels, though, is in how the music and the lyrics ('buy for England' and 'sell it on then buy it back' crack me up every time!) form a cohesive piece with a distinct tone and message, delivered in a manner that manages to criticize and glorify consumerism at the same time. If ever there was a work of art, "Personal Shopper" is it.

The falsetto vocals in "King Ghost" are another moment of brilliance. The song begins with a sparse unmelodic verse only to expand into a hugely atmospheric chorus based on the vocals and a beautiful synth line. The song is also a great study in minimalism as all the few musical elements that it has are absolutely essential for it to work.

There is no weak track on the album. Each of them is unique, after 2-3 listens you feel you have known them forever, and they get better with each listen.

As for the lyrical content, it's extremely well-written and intelligent in the quintessentially British way, which means it's critique and praise at the same time. What SW says here is basically 'yes, we are a consumer society, and it's often totally ridiculous, but it's also enjoyable, so why deny it?' I much prefer it to virtue signalling.

Overall, "The Future Bites" is one of Wilson's best albums to date. I see no reason neither to expect nor to wish for another Porcupine Tree record at this moment as Steven's revolving door policy concerning his collaborators has led to a really diverse and interesting body of work. "TFB" is also progressive in the true sense of the word. An excellent record.

(The numerous b-sides from the "TFB" sessions are also worth checking out, especially the brilliant cover of Lonely Robot's "In Floral Green".)

sorry steven,,with respect: the fact of this album is not my cup of tea, is not because someone like me likes hard metal or prog or jazz, blues of hard rock! which i do all. the reason for this album being a very disappointed album in my opinion is due to factor of being more than nothing special, with the same old routine pop album that you can find it everywhere, anywhere but even better than this album. when artists goes from one area into another is something that i really admire. i seen 5 shows from porcupine tree and 7 from steven wilson and it looks like he wanted to provoke hard metal fans and make them to go away or at least to exempt himself from prog music. he always criticized in concerts people who likes guitar star players or hard metal, but if you are going to do something different, at least be different from the others, and that thing was always something steven did better than everyone else by creating a difference in his music. i know that electronics is a future state of mind of the new generations of musicians or non musicians, and the guitar instrument is fading away in this millenium decades, but this album didn't went well on me by not creating any other way for perfection we got used too with steven. when bands like silverchair, pain of salvation, imelda may, span and other bands decided to go into a different direction, they left behind something that was so amazing that would take decades to have such bands like that coming by or they would be the best in their style. porcupine tree was one of those examples: it sounded like radiohead, coldplay, dream theater, nine inch nails, pink floyd and other genres. this album would get into your ears very fast but it will fade away faster as well, at least for me. prog genre was always a name for me that represents various genres and that's the reason for me to call progressive music, because you never knew were they stand. this album is somehow the other way of that. it's justsounds like many thousands pops albums out there. it's like when a man gets married and gets kids, he tries to please his music more to his wife than too his fans,,,,and he achieved that,,,but like every other man, when you get tired of your wife and kids, the old mind will kick off and it will come back soon or later. i still admire steven wilson for his dedication and i will never stop going to his shows. look at this point: even in his shows when he lost money because he wanted to produce an amazing and different live show, and only to a small bunch of people,,,he did that because he wanted to leave people shocked from their performance and the visual aspects from being different. people would get out and say: **** what the hell did i just watch,,amazing shows, and next time he would perform another show, i would come back with more invited people to witness his shows,,,they all loved their live shows but they also didn't like this album either.

If you have been following the progressive rock and metal scene over the past 30 years, the name Steven Wilson will be no stranger to you. After leaving his main band Porcupine Tree, in 2008 Wilson started a very successful solo career that has seen him rapidly become an icon for the contemporary progressive rock/metal community. Albums like The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) and Hand. Cannot. Erase. are rightfully considered modern prog rock masterpieces and gained Steven Wilson accolades among critics and public alike. However, Steven is not a man who rests easily on his laurels and already with 2017's To The Bone he showed his hunger for experimenting with new sounds and influences, which inevitably disappointed more than a few progressive rock aficionados. Personally, I quite liked that album and did not find it such a dramatic departure from Wilson's previous output as some believed it was. It wasn't perhaps his strongest effort and did not have the charm of concept albums like Raven and HCE, but it did contain some excellent moments.

Steven's sixth album, The Future Bites, was announced to be an even starker deviation from his prog rock roots. It undoubtedly is. It's an album born out of Steven's love for sophisticated pop and electronic music (Tears for Fears, Talk Talk, Roxy Music, XTC). The rock (let alone metal) influences are nearly completely wiped out off this album. The guitar work is sparse and limited to chords and occasional solos that are more punkish, noisy explosions than melodic constructions ("Eminent Sleaze"). Rhythmically, the music relies in equal parts on Michael Spearman's (Everything Everything) light and easy drumming and David Kosten's (aka Faultine) synthetic programmed beats. Synths, sound effects and loops dominate the musical landscape. Vocally, Steven frequently resorts to his characteristic androgynous falsetto to carry the melodies. This, and the abundant use of background female vocals give the album a strong funk/R&B flavor.

Most songs revolve around short and simplified structures, with only two songs exceeding the five minutes bar ("Personal Shopper" and "Count of Unease"). There is not much space for solo spotlights on this album, and the moments of instrumental brilliance are few and far in between. "Eminent Sleaze" surprises the listener with a string orchestra superimposed to a funky bass and guitar pattern. The vocal collage in the middle of "Personal Shopper" is another stroke of genius and one of the most exhilarating moments on the album: Elton John (!) guests by reading out a list of superfluous consumption products and a series of psychological states that they substitute for ("self-esteem", "self-love", "self-doubt"), the different words appearing faster and faster to create a vocal tourbillion that disorientates the listener. The rest of the album, however, inhabits much more average territories, coming across as pleasant and well-constructed, but never exciting or engrossing.

Despite all this, the album still sounds undeniably like Steven Wilson. In its most mellow electronic/ambient moments ("King Ghost", "Man of the People", "Count of Unease"), it reminds me of Steven's early work with Porcupine Tree on albums like Stupid Dream and his first solo release Insurgentes. "12 Things I forgot" continues Steven's tradition of pop/rock semi-acoustic ballads that one can find aplenty on Porcupine Tree's albums. Even the most electronic moments of the album, like "Personal Shopper", do not come as a total surprise given that Steven's love for electronic music has surfaced more than once in his previous work (for instance on "No Part of Me" or "Index" from his second solo album Grace for Drowning).

Therefore, my disappointment with The Future Bites does not really come from the fact that I thought Steven Wilson has "betrayed his origins" (what a silly thing to criticize an artist for, anyhow) or that he has "sold out". I feel that this album is a product of Steven's genuine artistic expression as much as anything he has written before. No, the reason why I gave a low score to The Future Bites is that this album leaves me terribly cold, unexcited and uninvolved. I suspect this is partly the effect Wilson was going for as it matches well the theme of the album ? a dry satire of the mindless consumerism and status-seeking of our times. The clean and aseptic production, the detached and processed vocals and the synthetic elements of the music all contribute to conjure up images of shopping malls infested with plasticky products, lifeless mannequins and brainwashed consumers. It's a sinister and compelling concept, that however does not work so well as a musical embodiment precisely because of the qualities that it strives to incarnate (lifelessness, sterileness, asepticism). In a nutshell: The Future Bites comes across as dull and uninteresting, with too few moments that really perk my interest and hold my attention for more than a handful of seconds.

I doubt that Steven Wilson will ever be able to write an album that is a total disaster, no matter the style he chooses to write or play. The Future Bites is no exception. It is not a bad album. There is enough variation in its songs to please everybody except perhaps the most radical progsters out there. The melodies are pleasant, some songs are even very good ("King Ghost", "Man of the People", "Personal Shopper"). However, there is too much averageness, too many moments that pass by unremarkably and are soon forgotten. I hate to say it but much of the songs on The Future Bites have a background music quality that greatly reduces my eagerness to play them over and over again while listening intently. In the end, my disappointment mostly comes down to wrong expectations: I admire and respect so much Steve Wilson's artistic genius that when I put on one of his albums I always expect to be blown away by it, no matter its style or genre. This did not happen with The Future Bites. Its songs did not impress me from a technical point of view, nor did they involve me emotionally. They did not even outrage me. I felt nothing: they just passed by, mediocrely and inconspicuously. And this is probably the worst possible thing that can happen to any piece of music.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

When I get an album and start listening to it, I do not stop to think about what particular sub-genre it might belong to in Prog Archives, or whether, in fact, it should be here in the first place. I am slightly old fashioned in that my first thought is; is this any good? Do I like it? Will I like it moving forward after that initial rush of excitement on the first few listens?

The answer to the (as far as the so-called hardcore fan base is concerned) "sellout" electronica pop/rock album that is The Future Bites is yes. I do like it. It is clever conceptually regarding rampant commercialism and its use of technology (Follower is a very clever commentary, as well as including a fantastic guitar riff). Musically, it is as tight as one would expect from a maestro musician. In terms of its sound, it is as polished as one would expect from the man most in demand for remixes on the planet. And in the 10 or so listens thus far, each time I find myself foot-tapping and head-nodding in appreciation at what I am hearing, most definitively on the quite marvellous 12 Things I Forgot, which, perhaps deliberately, reminds one strongly of my favourite Porcupine Tree track, Lazarus.

Elsewhere, we have a guest slot by Elton John on Personal Shopper, an extremely clever exposé of all those utterly inessential "essential" items of shopping we are so addicted to, showing if nothing else that Sir John has a nice sense of irony about himself. The passage where he reels out the list of items is a dreamy sequence in stark contrast to the relentlessly upbeat opening themes, and this continues before the corporate electronica reasserts itself.

Most of the music here is beat driven and electronically upbeat, and certainly a massive contrast to the relentless, if brilliant, gloom of Hand. Cannot. Erase, although there are a couple of tracks which can be identified as natural progressions from that album in their melancholy, namely Man of the People and Count of Unease.

All in all, I admire this album and the driving force behind it. Wilson is progressing, and taking his musical vision to places he wants them to go, rather than the somewhat obsessive minority who demand a repeat of In Absentia every time he records something.

In closing, I might also add that this album reminds me quite a bit of that period in the early 1980's when every "proper" Genesis fan decried the commerciality of ATTWT and Duke, and wanted Collins strung up after the massive success of Face Value. Let me tell you something. There are a great many people about now who love a lot of the music we hold dear on this site because of the accessibility of those albums, and others such as 90125. They listened, and thought, "this ain't half bad", and explored further.

Steven Wilson is a man who I think is becoming more and more like the man he obviously holds in the highest regard (and it is reciprocated), namely one Robert Fripp, an artist and leader who spent an entire 50+ career reinventing himself and his music.

I for one look forward very much to the next instalment of Wilson's journey, because The Future Bites is an excellent album those with an open mind to class pop/prog/rock will take a great deal of enjoyment from.

And you know what? As much of a masterpiece I regard aforementioned Hand....this one will be on the deck quite a bit more often, even if it is as background whilst I work. Yep. Accessible. Easy to listen to, but still oozing intelligence in every note and word. That will do for me.

The master of modern progressive rock and the man most responsible for keeping the legacy and spirit of 70's prog alive in the modern era has made a near full pivot towards synth-based pop... And we all should have seen it coming. As Pitchfork writer Sam Sodomsky reminds us in his latest review for Genisis' 1980 release Duke, ".. after the '70's, nearly every major prog band tried their hand at writing simpler tunes for a hipper crowd..." Wilson's pop pivot was basically pre-ordained.

Have no fear, the music on The Future Bites does not abandon rock entirely. There is a fusion here akin to something you might here from Imagine Dragons or 2010's Coldplay. Only the musical content is more interesting and tasteful. The tunes on this record are definitely loaded to this gills with layers of sounds and textures previously only teased on Wilson's other efforts. But the strong and memorable melodies along with colorful and inventive chord progressions that have always been hallmarks of Wilson's sound are still here in full effect. As much as this record is different, it is also a distilled and focused restatement of everything fans have always loved about this music. On a personal level, having the opportunity to appreciate a level of sophistication in an easily digestible format is always welcome.

While the musical foundation of this record is strong, the ethics of the project's underlying lyrical concept are murky. The Future Bites is the name of a fictional brand that employs the viral hype-marketing and artificial supply scarcity tactics of brands like Supreme and, to a certain extent, tech giants like Apple. Anyone with a brain can appreciate the extent to which these companies invest in creating an artificial demand for their products to foster gross amount of conspicuous consumption. But at the same time, artists should be a bit more humble and careful before attacking these trends outright. In today's penny- pinched music market, artists rely heavily on convincing consumers of the uniqueness of their brand and the experiences associated with purchasing their products, products like limited addition vinyl. Attacking this business model outright lacks self awareness and sympathy for what it is consumers are looking for in the first place.

I often find myself extremely conflicted when I review albums that are clearly not prog for this website. The rules require that the maximum score I could give for a non prog album would be 3. And I cannot bring myself to do that for say a Fire of Unknown Origin or even Rainbow's RIsing.

But not this time! ;)

Wilson talked a big talk at the time of the release of The Future Bites. He took aim at those listeners who prefer to listen to second rate prog but would hate your guts if you made first rate pop. Fair enough and I understand and agree with the sentiment. The trouble is when as an artist you put yourself out there with a statement like that to back your clearly not-prog album, you are begging for the question to be asked as to whether YOU have made a first rate pop album.

I wish I could say the answer is yes.

It isn't, not in my opinion.

It's a first rate PRODUCTION. Wilson's production continues to be top notch, one of the best in the business. I miss the days when pop was still produced like this as lately it is oversaturated with loudness and compression. Wilson's production is luxuriant and the songs sound easy on the ears without lacking punch.

The trouble is this isn't future bites anything. The musical composition itself is very by the numbers. There is hardly anything to surprise you if you have been casually familiar with the goings on in pop. I would even go so far to say that a lot of it is quite dated, evoking the pop that was made maybe ten years ago or older.

One song in particular is super dated but in a nice way. 12 Things I Forgot instantly brings the 90s to mind with a sweet melody that could have found its way into Cathy Dennis' Am I The Kinda Girl album. Which by the way is not an insult if you've heard that album at all. The melody, the arrangements evoke greener Britpop pastures gone by that perhaps Mr Wilson enjoyed when he was younger, so much younger than today. Indeed, the harmonizing on the chorus evokes Beatles. There is also a whiff of the song Gary Barlow wrote for Agnetha Faltskog - I Should Have Followed You Home.

There is little redemption elsewhere as Wilson frequently hides his own vocals behind computerised effects. So futuristic it sometimes brings to mind the beginnings of techno.

Wilson pronounced the guitar dead in the interviews accompanying this album. VS Naipaul/Sally Wertheim-like pronouncements declaring the death of the novel/tennis are best avoided but either Wilson does not think so or is consciously trolling us listeners to bait us into listening to the album. After all, I too may not have given this album a few spins had I not been piqued to find out just what was this new album about.

Anyhow, I wonder whether Wilson has listened to the work of Everything Everything, whether he realises that songs like Night of The Long Knives are constructed mostly out of guitars. I mean, I am a hundred percent certain Wilson can forget more about music than what I know about it but even so, such dubious pronouncements do force me to question his wisdom.

Everything Everything is polarizing and quirky but they certainly put out their work boldly and unabashedly and grab you by the collar. That is not something one has been able to say about Wilson in recent years and this album is no exception. His talk seems to be usually followed by a well produced but musically modest affair. What is striking, if anything, is how conservative Wilson's tastes are. I don't mean this in an ideological sense. I mean that he is playing it pretty safe. Even when he ventures far from the comfort zone of a prog rocker, he curates the sounds so carefully it's difficult for this album to offend you.

It does bore me a little though, if I am being perfectly honest. I give it three stars only for the sheer meticulous effort that has clearly gone into putting it together. I appreciate that there are still musicians like Wilson who want to give you a product with high technical values. It is a quality that has increasingly been given the short shrift in the name of everything-goes subjectivity. I respect the polish of this album. But there is only so much you can polish a, uh, semi- turd at the end of the day. Not even close to an excellent addition to any pop music collection, guys; for now, you should be just fine with your Beatles, ABBA, Michael Jackson and Prince albums. Perhaps the future is going to bite but Wilson isn't about to just yet.

Steven Wilson begins the new decade with a daring new album - 'The Future Bites' happens to be solo album #6 by the British prog rock icon, and it will quite likely be remembered for the big delay in the release date, precisely from June 2020 to late January 2021. Before diving into the content of this new album, I must say one thing: I'm glad that this album sounds the way it does, and not like 'To the Bone' Part 2 or a reworked version of 'Grace for Drowning' or even a 'Blackfield' spin-off; Steven Wilson has changed directions once again in the seemingly perpetual musical exploration journey that he has embarked on since the mid-90s, and thank god he has... again.

Unlike the album that came right before it, 'The Future Bites' is less guitar-driven for the sake of a more prevalent synth-pop-reminiscent sound, much more minimalistic in terms of the production approach, somehow more chorus-driven and severely electronic. Also, Wilson tips his toes in the field of disco and dance music, if you will, for the good of it.

A well-crafted and well-thought-out modern pop record that will, in my opinion, stand the test of time. Will it be considered his best in some decades' time? I certainly do not know but I had some hidden high hopes that it could be such. However, the kind of revolving concept around the album is well-known to Wilson, as he has explored consumerism, the influence of social media, and current events before, but this time all wrapped around the fictional high-end brand The Future Bites' plot to sell whatever useless crap could be branded.

Musically, this album has all the significant traces of a Steven Wilson record, which might not be necessarily named but are strongly felt once heard, the most dominant of all being the emotiveness of all of his music. Because despite the style and the thematic concept of 'TFB', this is a very emotive record. With songs like 'King Ghost', '12 Things I Forgot', 'Man of the People' and 'Count of Unease', you cannot dismiss this record as a bland or mindless collection of easy-going pop songs.

'Self' is an interesting entry in his catalogue - very electronic and upbeat, quite minimalistic in terms of production but effective enough to be a memorable song. 'Eminent Sleaze' sounds like something that Pink Floyd would have done had they been active in 2021; most likely my favorite song on the album, and another unique Steven Wilson piece. Enough said. 'Personal Shopper' is quite spectacular, almost 10-minutes of sort of dark-dance prog rock fest. Plus, the music video that accompanies this song is absolutely spectacular and this has to be pointed out. Finally, 'Follower' seems to be the only song I cannot get used to. Interestingly, the bonus material for the album is twice as long as the album itself, and contains some pretty good tracks but generally I can see why these were left out (covers, remixes, and shorter, more state-of-the-art songs).

Moreover, an interesting cast of additional musicians and collaborators, including David Kosten, Nick Beggs, Adam Holzman, Richard Barbieri, Elton John, Rotem Wilson, and many more are in to add something to this record. It is sometimes hard to feel the presence of people like Beggs or Holzman but this is not the kind of album that would be in need for their 'full-time presence'.

All in all, this album is strong, different, and surprising. Does it strike the same chord with me like his previous albums? Honestly, not quite. As much as I like the experience of this album that sounds tremendous on headphones, there is something lacking when compared to the masterful 'Hand. Cannot. Erase' or 'The Raven', or almost any other album that Steven Wilson has been involved in. Fantastic choice on his side, however, to continue exploring whatever excites him artistically! Still much more progressive than many other contemporary acts waving this flag.

My first listening session of this album was disappointing despite that I knew what direction Steven had decided to go. But when I listened to the music in surround, it grows on me probably because I was putting more attention into that environment. Suddenly, the vocals and the electronic effects had more meaning when it's coming from everywhere. From the beginning of the album with the two first tracks, we are not too far from the same mood of some songs from the previous album. There is a lot of vocals effects and multiple chanting parts that drive the melody through a sometimes ambient atmosphere and at other times in some Pop music mode. The song ''Eminent Slaze'' has some Prince and Frankie Goes to Hollywood style of music, and starting with ''Personal Shopper'' there is some addictive groove at an upbeat pace, that will continue in the next song. There is some guitar on this album despite being an electronic album but nothing to compare to his past material as a solo artist. The last song ''Count of Unease'' is a peaceful ending at a slow pace with piano and vocals that as the ambient atmosphere of the song ''Raven that Refuse to Sing''. However, it's a bit frustrating that Steven has not included in the Blu-Ray edition some good songs only available on the Deluxe edition. What rating should I give to this kind of album on a Prog Web site? It's an excellent addition to your music collection, not Prog but who says everything good has to be Prog.

- Review #12 -

This album gave me a couple chuckles, but not good ones. I seriously can't believe how Steven has literally been going downhill since The Raven That Refused To Sing, it's sad because at that time he was seriously the best progressive rock artist in the world.

While Hand. Cannot. Erase. wasn't in my favorites, it was still a very enjoyable album. Same with To The Bone, even if it was a little bit more pop oriented. I personally don't have any problem with pop in fact, it's not like I'm giving this album a low rating just because it's pop or alternative rock. The reason is that this isn't very good pop/alternative and no, this album isn't progressive in any way.

As a very pop/alternative-oriented album, you should expect very cohesive tracks. Songs like Self for example, revolve around repeating an idea or melody that's supposed to be catchy. I personally found it to be pretty funny because Steven's lyrics are really bad. But not in an Andy Tillison way, where they're so bad that they end up being fun and catchy. The video was cool though, that face effect was great.

While the singles really disappointed me, I was really looking forward to the nine-minute track "Personal Shopper", since in the last album, To The Bone, the long track was the best work from the album and it really carried the whole disc. I decided to ignore the single because it was a radio-cut and radio-cuts are awful.

Yeah, it wasn't great. It wasn't memorable in the slightest and not a single melody stood with me after listening it. If I remember right, there's a part where Elton John starts saying household items (?). I don't know if that meant to be funny or if it's meant to show me that I'm a consumer, which is the type of people that this album criticizes most of the time, along with capitalism (ironic).

So, since I rated Hand. Cannot. Erase. three stars and it's much better than this, i makes sense that I rate this album two stars. I mean it's not poor, but it's not impressive either. It's just a mediocre pop album. Two Stars.

Here is my review of Steven Wilson's new album, which continues to disappoint his lifelong fans despite the moderate quality of the music he continues to produce.

The Future Bites brings us with a Wilson more focused than ever on a modern synth-pop with electronic touches, which has almost nothing to do with the fantastic progressive rock that made him big, and to which it owes its fame, to be honest.

So if you don't like artists like Billy Eilish, Annie Lennox or Depeche Mode, which I've heard snippets of in this The Future bites, you better steer clear of this release. As far as I am concerned, I can only continue dreaming of a return of Porcupine Tree, or at least that Steven Wilson reconsiders and returns to the quality of records like The Raven that Refused to Sing or Hand Cannot Erase.

Best Tracks: Self (I like the robotic vocals at the beginning), 12 Things I Forgot (good British pop song) and Personal Shopper (electronic, hypnotic and genuine)

My Rating: **

Four chords that didn't make a million?

I'm going to call things for what they are. This is a disaster.

I'm pretty sure most people seem have some sort of respect towards Steven Wilson due to his early (and undoubtedly good) early records in bands such as Porcupine Tree, and with his first three solo records. It's clear that he has a solid discography, but for me that's pretty much it. Some people go ahead and call him a god of prog, which is honestly comical. Average vocalist, average guitarist, the thing he was (I repeat, was) truly good at was composition.

But let's ignore for a moment all that, and focus only on this work. This record which is the amalgamation of all the decaying aspects of Steven Wilson of the last couple of years.

First of all, not prog. Not even in the slightest. Steven Wilson is so submerged in the "I can do whatever I want with my music" idea that he doesn't realize he's making poor and mediocre content, almost as if he was his only sense of perspective towards music, in other words, zero musicality. Songs are basically simplistic alternative electronic music, they entirely revolve around having a catchy chorus or beat line, although it definitely fails at those things.

The lyrical content is honestly just funny. A recurring theme of the album is anti-capitalism, which means that either he has an amazing sense of humor and a massively layered irony, or he doesn't realize that he, himself, is a capitalist person, judging by the way he lives. It might sound out of place to mention this, but lyrical content is essential to the record.

In this record, Steven Wilson doesn't play the guitar. You can be totally fine with that, but the excuse he gives for it is so arrogant:

"I don't enjoy guitar music anymore"

A vague description right? Guitar music? What is that supposed to mean? Does that mean that if you play him an Eddie Van Halen solo he's just going to be like "meh"? Does that mean that tons of genres just can't satisfy him anymore?

As much as I am a metalhead, I can still enjoy pop, it's not my favorite thing at all but it's a genre that definitely has its highlights, but this record is on the bad side of pop. I seriously think I would enjoy an average Taylor Swift album more than this boring and stale synth-pop mess.

I don't usually like being harsh on words but this record is terrible and Steven Wilson, to be specific, is an artist I have always found to be slightly overrated in most prog communities. His good music is far behind him.

One star without a doubt. I can't even say it's for fans because even his fans think it's one of his worst works to date. This album bites, but it's not the bite of an attractive french girl, it's the bite of a god damn Megalodon shark.

Initially, when I listened to the excerpts from of the future (at that time) album The Future Bites, I realized that Steven Wilson had completely broken with his past; it was already clearly felt on his previous solo album "To The Bone". This time we do not even have a lurch into a new wave or pop-rock (pop-art-rock), but something more radical, let's say "conceptual electro-pop".

Steven managed to make a radically new album, remembering the well-forgotten old; having made a new record for himself, he seemed to revive what existed in the 80s. And it became fresh and unexpected from the point of view of the author, as well as the listeners, who were expecting another Progressive metal album.

The concept is quite simple: the corporation titled "The Future Bites", which managed to produce goods characterized by the highest quality, having reduced its cost as much as possible, has completely depleted the earth's resources, leading humanity to war and extinction. The introductory part of "Self" comes from a randomly preserved neural network that has neither face nor individuality, listing the once meaningless hobbies of disappeared people, with obscene vocabulary skillfully inserted by Steven into the canvas of the song.

Particular attention should be paid to the composition "12 Things I Forgot". This is, in fact, a classic ballad in which Wilson sings to the accompaniment of simple guitar chords about the sorrows of a forced "secondary existence" and disappointment in the world around him (Maybe about disappointment in himself? Unlikely). About all those hobbies that the narrator forgot in the pursuit of profit.

And "Man Of The People" - with an eerie disturbing video, this thing is the most "classic" here, if there is anything in this album that fits the term "classic" (for the classic Steven, of course). "Cos you're a man of the people, A man of the people, And I'm just part of the plan" - a prophetic phrase and eerie in its simplicity, like this entire album. But the composition is not devoid of true beauty and grandeur!

And the magnum opus of the album - "Personal Shopper" - is an ominous little thing that "encompasses" the whole concept of the album. "Buy now, buy now, have a better life? Buy the [&*!#] you never knew you lacked". As the beats die away, you can hear an ominous synth pad that can knock out even the most hardcore fans of the genre. And if you remember the concept of the album, it becomes absolutely incredible!

To some extent, Steven succeeded in a unique thing: to make - as the basis of the album - facelessness, bringing it to the absolute, inscribing it into the canvas of the album and making it an artistic feature.

The edition is beauty! Faceless texts, faceless products, no names, no pictures. This album is like a gift from the future, where there is nothing left but simulacra that have completely trampled the world.

A cautionary album? Perhaps, but I would warn against such clichés, although everything Steven wrote has a number of serious reasons and concerns. But this is not from the field of music.

As a long time fan of PT and Steven Wilsons work, this album really came as a bit of a shock to the system. Hard on the heels (if a four year gap counts as that!) of his last album, it was difficult to see which way Wilson would jump? Would he go for a more traditional sound, as heard on his three prior albums, or keep pushing the more commercial envelope, and a sound more akin with his Bass Communion project? With 'The Future Bites' we got the answer - and it wasn't a good one. Now, I have nothing against artists wanting to release material that is a homage to their musical inspirations. But Wilson had already done this with 4 and a half. So why repeat the process, and moreover, do it in a way that leads the listener to believe its 'not really' a homage,- but merely 'drawing inspiration' from his favourite 1980's acts? I got into a row with a reviewer for one of the well known hifi mags over this issue. He sneeringly rejected any criticism of Wilson's last two albums as the 'sad moaning of proggers', as of course, prog fans have no right not to like an album if it doesn't appeal to their music tastes. A common theme, but, well, lets leave it there. On listening to the album, the impression I had, was that Wilson had run out of ideas, and was simply producing an album with a 1980's theme, and drawing overtly from the artists of the day. Now, a guy as gifted as Steven Wilson, is surely unlikely to need do that? So why then are we treated to tracks that are indistinguishable from Ultravox? From Jimmy Sommerville? From a host of electro pop acts? No criticism of them, for example I have Ultravox albums in my collection, but why does Steven Wilson feel the need to produce an album that contains tracks that sound almost exactly like them? Call me old fashioned and contrary, but if I want to listen to acts from the 1980's all I have to do is rustle up some vinyl or CD's from my collection, and bobs yer uncle. Why do I need Steven Wilson, a man who's produced masterpieces like In Absentia, Fear of a Blank Planet, Grace for Drowning and the Raven that refused to Sing, to chuck out stuff that others have already done, and in all honesty, done better? What's worse, is that if you put forward these views in the wider World, with Stevens current profile, its seen as heresy, and receives the usual abuse from people who should know better. This album, for me, had very little to redeem it. He'd already done the covers thing, he already has Bass Communion to express his love of electronic music, so why release this? Pressure from the record company? A bad tab? Who knows? All we can hope, is that he's now got this out of his system, and better is to come, because for me (and this is only 'my' opinion) this was a massive disappointment.

Though the preceding To the Bone saw Steven Wilson pivoting from a prog revivalist approach to something more akin to the progressive pop of crossover artists like Peter Gabriel or Kate Bush, even that couldn't have prepared listeners for the left turn into full-on synthpop offered up on The Future Bites.

In retrospect, the logic behind this has become somewhat clearer. It would have been around now that the gradual, careful sessions for the Porcupine Tree reunion album Closure/Continuation would have been coming to fruition - so with his old outlet for his prog instincts coming back into service, Wilson was freed up to concentrate on other musical inspirations in his solo career.

Impeccably produced as always, this isn't cheap, sleazy, straightforward synthpop either - it's spacey, tripped-out, paranoid, and out-of-left-field synthpop which adventurerous listeners will find a lot to like in, and which sounds absolutely bang up to date and modern. If you genuinely only find Steven Wilson interesting when he's being retro, then you'll probably not be took keen on this. On the other hand, if "Steven does synthwave" sounds like a thing that would appeal, then you are in for a serious treat - and for my part, I'm in the latter camp.

Steven Wilson, likely the biggest individual name in the current world of prog, returns with his sixth solo album. After making a name for himself with his longtime prog metal/rock band, Porcupine Tree, he struck out on a solo career (which I've documented here) that has tacked increasingly poppy over his last few releases.

Wilson had commented that he currently does not feel inspired when playing guitar, and his continued gravitation toward synthesizers is evident on The Future Bites. I have to give him kudos for following his musical heart and not kowtowing to prog traditionalists demanding another Deadwing or Hand. Cannot. Erase. I really respect him for broadening his horizons and playing what he wants to play. I wish more artists had that sort of integrity and adventurous spirit.

However, a good attitude will only get you so far. You still need to write good, engaging music. Ulver is the clearest parallel to Wilson's career trajectory. After starting out as raw, kvlt black metal, that Norwegian duo shifted to making some top-notch electronica and synthpop. Unlike Ulver, Steven Wilson's chops as a pop songwriter are iffy, at best.

Many of the songs on this album have sparse arrangements which put his vocals front-and-center. Wilson has a nice voice, but it's more suited to rock or contemplative folk than pop. He lacks the power and oomph you need for something as bombastic as some of these disco-inspired tracks. He heavily leans on falsetto delivery on TFB, and his falsetto simply is not that good.

The lyrical content is something of a continuation of what was on Fear of a Blank Planet: wariness surrounding technology and a fear that people are growing too isolated. While that's a good subject to tackle, it's tough to do well without coming off like some hackneyed boomer-humor-type "phone bad" commentary. Plus, Steven, don't you think it's a bit hypocritical to put out an anti-consumerism album and then turn around and offer expensive limited-edition box sets?

TFB continues to demonstrate his skill as a producer, though. Divorced from the quality of the songwriting, the sounds themselves are very nice and work well together. The volume and textures are balanced.

After a brief, lonely-sounding intro track, "Self" isn't a bad way to kick things off. It's not particularly good, but it's not bad. The verses sound like something that was scrapped during the Deadwing sessions; it bears similarities to "Halo" off that record. The chorus, though, fails to grab any attention, and the melody's not memorable.

"King Ghost", on the other hand, is bad. The moody opening synths again feel like a Deadwing outtake, and this is the first time we hear Wilson deploy his falsetto on this record. Everything comes off as thin and strained, and the musical backing is too light. It's fluff upon fluff, which results in auditory cotton candy.

The next song?"12 Things I Forgot"?might be the worst goddamn thing Steven Wilson has ever recorded. This is one of only a couple songs to feature prominent guitar, and perhaps not coincidentally, it sounds deeply uninspired. This falls somewhere between Christian rock and Roger Waters's solo material. Generic is the best descriptor I can give this song.

The music video for "Eminent Sleaze" showcases Wilson's shallow, latter-season-Black-Mirror-style commentary, and the music doesn't do much to improve upon it. Parts of this sound like a weaker version of "Have a Cigar", and the Middle Eastern-inspired strings and percussion feel incongruous against Western instrumentation and beats. On the plus side, it has an interesting jagged, halting guitar solo that I like a lot.

"Man of the People" continues with its allusions to Roger Waters's work, this time "Welcome to the Machine". Though the allusion is brief, there is a momentary jab of dark, pulsing synth paired alongside acoustic guitar, which feels almost like a rip-off. Beyond that, most of this song is dull, acoustic soft rock that uses too much falsetto.

The nearly-10-minute "Personal Shopper" features some of the most driving, engaging, and fun music on all of TFB, but this is also one of the most maddeningly repetitious things I've heard in a long time. The dark, pulsing synths of the opening lead into a segment which reminds me of Ozric Tentacles' recent electronic experiments. Wilson again over-relies on his falsetto during the verses, but the chorus has good impact. However, this verse-chorus structure quickly wears itself out, and by about four minutes in, I was looking at my watch. After a bit of ambience and narration (provided by Elton John), there's an unnecessary reprise of the chorus, but Wilson delivers another notably odd guitar solo full of squealing, atonal stutters.

"Follower" is probably my favorite song on the album, and even that is a mixed bag. The opening percussion sounds like a minimalist post-punk composition, but the sparse arrangement once more emphasizes how un-robust Wilson's voice is. It's not weak, but he can't really belt it out or command the listener's attention. After about two minutes of unimpressive power-pop, though, the song improves markedly. Warm synths and piano tones remind me of Klaatu, and I really enjoy the diversity of this song's second half.

The Future Bites ends on "Count of Unease", a weak retread of some of his past gentle piano pieces. "Collapse the Light into Earth" is the clearest comparison, but this song suffers from severe aimlessness. Aside from some dramatic piano chords in the middle, this track is too wispy and ethereal.

TFB is about what I expected. It's the logical culmination of Steven Wilson's recent proclivities, and I can't say I love it. I admire him for steadfastly doing what he, as an artist, wants to do. But the result is half-baked, shallow, and unremarkable.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2021/02/08/album-review-steven-wilson-the-future-bites/