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Mar 14, 2025 Web Exclusive By Scotty Dransfield

For the last decade or so, Steven Wilson has displayed an almost devilish wish to confound the expectations of his fans and audience, exploring whatever vibe and structure was his whim. With The Overview, Wilson eyes a return to form —“form” in this case meaning ’70s style space-prog—but somehow pulls off a balancing act between the progressive excess he built a fanbase on, and the pop accessibility he has recently strived for.

Built around the concept of the “overview effect”—the astronaut’s humbling realization of Earth’s smallness in the vastness of space—the album is structured as two suites, each a miniature story featuring ambient openings, rock builds, pop centers, instrumental peaks, and spacious outros.

“Objects Outlive Us,” the first suite, kicks off with Wilson’s signature falsetto over Rhodes chords (“No Monkey’s Paw”), then leads into a rhythmic, odd-timed build-up (“The Buddha of the Modern Age”) to one of his best-ever pop melodies (“Objects: Meanwhile”), before climaxing in heavy instrumental fireworks reminiscent of Porcupine Tree’s Deadwing / Fear of a Blank Planet era. Wilson is clearly comfortable layering these songs into one another, consistently revisiting motifs in poetic, cyclical fashion.

The second suite, “The Overview,” opens with eerie spoken-word recitations of galaxies’ massive distances from Earth (read by Wilson’s wife Rotem), emphasizing the album’s theme—particularly the nothingness Earth is surrounded by. But suddenly “A Beautiful Infinity I” launches with its lush acoustic guitars, serving as another pop-rock centerpiece, while “Infinity Measured in Moments” bursts to life with lively skittering drums and an uplifting, wondrous synth chord progression, leading to some truly cosmic instrumental and solo performances. It may be the most exciting moment on the album before the closing track, “Permanence,” lets it all drift into an unresolved, ambient loneliness.

The Overview feels like Wilson’s career seen from above; it’s a synthesis of his whole artistic arc: from Porcupine Tree space-rock to art-pop detours and back again, newly integrated. (www.stevenwilsonhq.com)

Author rating: 8/10