The always intriguing Steven Wilson has a new album coming out September 29: The Harmony Codex. Brad Birzer and Tad Wert share their thoughts on this new work by one of modern music’s most gifted artists.

Tad: Brad, I think you’ll agree with me that one thing we can expect from Steven Wilson is the unexpected. When he was in No-Man with Tim Bowness, he created an interesting amalgam of ambient/techno/pop that was unique. As the leader of Porcupine Tree, he spearheaded the resurgence of progressive rock in the 2000s that wasn’t afraid to pay homage to the “dinosaurs” of the ‘70s like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Yes. His solo career has been a rollercoaster ride – which I have enjoyed – where he has produced music in practically every style. I think he has deliberately worked to escape being pigeonholed as a “Progressive Rock” artist, and he asks his fans to simply appreciate him for his music, whichever mode it happens to be.

Which is my long-winded way of introducing our thoughts on his latest work, The Harmony Codex. The first time I listened to it, I wasn’t particularly struck by any song, as I immediately was with his earlier album, To The Bone. But then I listened again, this time with headphones, and holy cow! This is an amazing album. It really came alive when I heard the songs in the soundstage Wilson has crafted.

Brad: Tad, thanks so much for staring us off on this conversation.  As always, my friend, it’s an honor to talk music with you.  

I have not yet listened to The Harmony Codex with headphones.  What an excellent idea.  Maybe tonight I will do that.

In the meantime, I have listened to the album (so graciously provided by Steven Wilson’s PR firm) numerous times since we received the review copy the other day.  In some weird way, it’s become a part of me this week.

I agree with you that it didn’t do much for me on the first listen.  In fact, I thought it way too overproduced.  Our own Carl Olson has likened it to Kate Bush, but it struck me as far more Tears for Fears, Elemental-period.  I’m not sure I would say this now after so many listens, but I also wouldn’t say at this point that it’s overproduced.  The album has truly grown on me to the point that I absolutely love it.  Again, I couldn’t imagine the past week without it.  I am jealous of those who were able to hear the album in an Atmos-equipped room.  That must’ve been quite the experience.

I guess this takes me back, personally, to my own musical “relationship” with Steven Wilson.  I first heard “Trains” on an album rock radio station while doing some shopping in northern Indiana over two decades ago.  I immediately went to a very good store in Fort Wayne and purchased In Absentia as well as Up the Downstair Case and Signify.  Yes, it was a very good CD shop!  A kind student, finding out my new found-love love, then gifted me with Stars Die: The Delerium Years.  

I fell in love with Wilson and then proceeded to buy everything I could from him–everything from his contribution to OSI, to his No-Man work with Tim Bowness, to his later Blackfield albums.  When his first solo album, Insurgentes, came out I was thrilled.  

I now, twenty-one years later, have a huge Steven Wilson collection.  Everything he has written directly as well as probably 95% of what he’s remixed for other bands.  And, of course, I happily own the deluxe edition of his autobiography, etc.

All of this is a very long way of admitting, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Wilson on this new album.  To me, the absolute height of his profound musical ability can be found in Hand.Cannot.Erase, what I think is my second favorite album of all time.  His lowest point, though, was The Future Bites.  At least to me, though I know there are good things on that album.  Yet, the whole project came off as cynical.

Still, I very much worried that The Harmony Codex would be The Future Bites, Part II.  I am so very thankful that Wilson took his music in a different direction.  While I think The Harmony Codex shares some production values with The Future Bites, it is an album that stands on its own, far closer to, say, Grace for Drowning than to The Future Bites.

Anyway, I eagerly await the deluxe edition of The Harmony Codex I ordered from Burning Shed.

Tad: Brad, my love affair with Wilson’s music followed almost exactly the same path as you – I bought Fear of a Blank Planet, because Alex Lifeson of Rush played on it. I was hooked, and I quickly picked up every album I could find that Wilson was connected to. It didn’t hurt that Snapper/KScope was reissuing all of No-Man and Porcupine Tree at the time. Like you, I was exposed to OSI through Wilson’s vocals on their debut!

As far as The Harmony Codex goes, I wouldn’t say it’s his best, but it is very satisfying to listen to. I would like to know who and what influenced him while he was composing the music for this album. I hear Middle Eastern motifs in the first track, Inclination, classical minimalism in the intro to Impossible Tightrope, which then morphs into a jazz/rock fusion workout that sounds like something Herbie Hancock might do in the early ‘70s. The title track sounds almost baroque in its melody. For me, the weakest song is the single, Rock Bottom, but the other songs have set a very high bar. I think my favorite is the closing track, Staircase: nine and a half minutes of beautiful music that held me riveted from beginning to end. The break that features the bass bursting out of the mix is incredible!

You’ll notice that I haven’t spoken much about the lyrics – as I mentioned in an earlier dialogue of ours, a song’s melody has to attract me before I’ll invest any time in pondering the words. Wilson’s lyrics can be problematic for me, particularly from earlier in his career, because they dwell on some very dark subjects. In Absentia, for all its pleasant melodies, is about a serial rapist/killer. And I agree Hand.Cannot.Erase is an outstanding work of art. However, its subject matter – a young woman who dies alone in her apartment and isn’t missed for months –  is so heartbreaking that I have a hard time listening to it! You’re the lyrics man, so what are your thoughts on Wilson’s words in The Harmony Codex?

Brad: Yeah, Wilson can be really, really creepy when it comes to his lyrics, and he’s previously been obsessed with truly dark subject matter.  On not just one album, but several, he follows killers, drug addicts, and other miscreants.  

Hand.Cannot.Erase works so well for me, because he does have some hope at the end of the album, and I think he nails grief perfectly on that album.

As such, I think the weakest song on the new album is “Actual Brutal Facts.”  I can’t quite make out all the lyrics, but the muffled distorted  voice weirds me out quite a bit.  I like the music to the song, but the lyrics seem chilling.  Maybe I’m wrong on this, as I’ll need to wait until I see the lyric sheet.  As it is, the song tires me out.

And, Tad, I must admit, I’ve not been able to understand all the lyrics on the new album, so I can’t really pass judgment on them.  I will have to wait for the physical album to pass any real judgments.

Wilson employs that same creepy voice on the final track, “Staircase,” but it doesn’t seem as oppressive on this one.  In fact, I agree with you, Tad, this is an excellent track.

Maybe my ultimate answer to you about the lyrics, Tad, is this.  My favorite track on the album is the instrumental, “Impossible Tightrope.”  In an interview, Wilson mentioned that he followed Mark Hollis’s lead (from Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock) in recording far more than needed and then edited the various pieces and contributions together.  He said the “Impossible Tightrope” on the bonus cd of the deluxe edition will sound very different from the one released on the main album.

Tad: That’s very interesting that Wilson openly talks about late-era Talk Talk being a big influence – I hope he does a surround sound remix of Spirit of Eden. That would be a dream come true for me!

I’ve been listening to The Harmony Codex a lot the past 24 hours, and I have a new favorite track: “What Life Brings”. It’s the shortest one on the album, and it has the prettiest melody Wilson has composed in years. Just when you think it’s going to be a predictable, fairly pedestrian song, he introduces a slight modulation in the key that raises it up to a thing of beauty. Wilson is the master of that.

I agree with you about “Actual Brutal Facts” – it leaves me cold. It sounds like he’s trying his hand at hip hop, and it doesn’t work for me. That said, on the whole I think The Harmony Codex is one of Wilson’s better albums. It has a nice flow overall, while covering quite a few different styles of music. It’s definitely “proggier” than his previous two albums. Personally, I enjoy his explorations into various styles – he’s such a gifted musician, anything he does sounds good!

Brad, as always, it’s a blast to do a dialogue with you – your enthusiasm and brilliant writing raises the bar for me!