Harmony Codex

Steven Wilson is one of the few musicians left creating thoughtful music in the manner which was once common. This album has some facets to it which I'm not particularly enamored with, but the music is genuine and without pretense. Steven has been upfront about his connection with pop music as well as the progressive rock music which launched his career under the Porcupine Tree band. This album does have some pop sensibility to it, some of which doesn't work for me. In particular, the lack of real drums on some songs and a bit of a muddy mix which is the rage these days leaves me cold. I think the music is powerful enough without gimmicks or shtick. That said, the ten tracks are an enjoyable journey full of emotion and unpredictability. There are very few bands or musicians today who still make an effort to change and grow and break out of form. Steven Wilson always delivers in that sense. Purchasing this CD on Amazon was itself a bit of a journey, with a delivery date months in the future. But, that soon changed and I was delivered the product in a couple of weeks, apparently from a German source.

Steven Wilson's newest project, The Harmony Codex, is simply brilliant. It is a sonic journey. Some Porcupine Tree fans (Steven's biggest other band) are not thrilled with it because it sounds nothing like Porcupine Tree, or even Steven's other solo projects. But that's the point. It doesn't sounds like anything else out there, and the production and spatial audio (Dolby Atmos) is mind bending. It is atmospheric, it is trance, sometimes it is pop, and other times it is 21st century Krautrock. Wilson doesn't rest on his laurels and is always pushing the boundaries, and this album is a continuation of that. It cannot be judged by a "single". It needs to be listed to in its entirety, in a dark room, with a killer sound system or the best headphones you can afford. Kudos to Steven Wilson for this masterpiece.

I'd say this is a typical Steven Wilson album, except that there's really no such thing. He is constantly experimenting and trying new ways to create music. This is his best work in a while. I'd rate it in the same league as To The Bone, and perhaps slightly better. I don't know that any album of his will surpass Porcupine Tree's Deadwing, but that one is in a category of it's own. I'm particularly fond of Staircase, the last cut. Beautiful Scarecrow is also high on my list. But there really isn't a weak cut on the album. His last album The Future Bites did not grab me, and I only listened to it a few times. But I've been playing this every day since I got it, and keep liking it more.

I refuse to own copies of his last two studio albums on the Caroline label, as he abandoned what he did best. This was a welcome breath of fresh air. It is still no comparison for Hand Cannot Erase, The Raven That Refused To Sing, or Grace For Drowning, but this one is worthy of adding to my Steven Wilson collection. The title track is obviously influenced by the ambient music of Tangerine Dream and I saw a video for a live performance of it. If I was not informed, I would have sworn that I was watching Tangerine Dream as a 3-piece electronic band. There are only 4 of the 10 cuts on here that run for more than 6 minutes each. I find the drum machines to be bearable. The video for Rock Bottom was quite creepy and I thought that I would not even rip this cut from my CD. Without the video, it is a song worth keeping. All 10 cuts got ripped from my CD to my MP3 library.

I love Steven Wilson's many musical projects, especially his solo work. This album is different than his previous efforts and I understand how some long time fans may have been turned off by just how different it is, but I can't help but feel that it's growth and maturity on Wilson's part. He refuses to rehash or redo the same thing over again. I like every song on this album, particularly What Life Brings and Staircase. I don't have an advanced multi-speaker Atmos system but I do have a great stereo rig and this record sounds just incredible.

Steven Wilson manages to create music in his own style, avoiding specific labels. I admire him for his ability to create beautiful melodic music regardless of the genre. In his most recent outing he has delved into jazz, electronic, progressive, art rock and more. Every listen gets better with time. Like most complex music it takes mutliple times to fully engage. This is not his best, but it's still quite good & engaging.

First of all, great job on packaging, shipping, and delivery. The CD arrived in perfect shape. Thanks! As for the album, this is a different direction for Steven Wilson, which is not unusual. There are some tracks that are really great with excellent vocal harmonies, interesting orchestration and composing. There are also a couple of tracks I'm still learning to appreciate. The spoken words by Steven's wife are good, but there is a track with a rap-like delivery that is less to my liking. Nevertheless, this is a really good album that needs to be in your Steven Wilson collection.

Great to have this in my collection

This marked a return to form for Steven... and has some amazing tracks.... Beautiful Scarecrow and Rock Bottom are standouts for me

Tja, dieses neueste Werk von SW ist durchaus außergewöhnlich. Das kommt bei ihm und seinen Bandprojekten ja häufiger vor, aber man ist stets gespannt, wie sich ein solch kreativer Künstler weiterentwickelt. Die vorletzte Scheibe, wurde ja kontrovers diskutiert, wird aber von mir seit gut 1,5 Jahren immer wieder gerne gehört. Das vorliegende Werk besteht zu locker 2/3 aus elektronischer Musik. Wahrscheinlich sogar noch mehr. Das muss man erst einmal mögen. Dazu kommt, dass wir hier nicht von bestem AOR à la Foreigner, Dare oder Robby Valentine sprechen (das hätten wir auch nicht erwartet, wollnich ;-) ). Es handelt sich um einen Crossover-Mix aus Electronic, Space, Progressive Rock, Ambient und Jazz. Über die Musiker wurde schon alles geschrieben. Die sind ausnahmslos erste Sahne. Ninet und Rotem ebenfalls. Das SW mit David Kosten einen zusätzlichen Produzenten und Programmierer angeheuert hat, spricht für seine Ambitionen, wieder einmal über sich hinaus zu wachsen. Bislang habe ich die Scheibe 6 mal am Stück gehört. Bei dieser Art von Kunst, habe ich erst einmal gefremdelt. Das ist schon echt komplexer Stoff und auch nicht immer eingänglich (das war auch nicht meine Erwartung). Aber ab dem dritten Durchlauf begann eine Art von "Verstehen" einzusetzen. Und danach ist die Vorfreude auf den nächsten Durchlauf gegeben. Und das 64 Minuten am Stück. Sie entwickelt von Mal zu Mal auf ein nächstes Level von "Verstehen". Sie ist komplex, manchmal sperrig, aber doch von einer inneren Schönheit geprägt. Das kann man nicht erklären, das muss jeder selbst hören. Die Klangqualität ist sehr gut. Vielleicht ein wenig zu dominant im Bass abgemischt. Ich musste leicht nach unten justieren, aber das war kein Problem. 4,5 Sterne für den Klang. Die Produktion als Ganzes ist ein Monster!! Die Vielzahl von synthetischen, elektronischen, akustischen und gesanglichen Klangquellen und Effekten, die permanent in Bewegung sind und variieren in der vorliegenden Art und Weise zu mastern und aufs Medium zu bringen verdient 6 Sterne!! Das setzt definitiv Maßstäbe! Es ist nachzulesen, dass SW noch vor Veröffentlichung einem ausgesuchten Publikum einen Hördurchlauf im abgedunkelten Raum zukommen ließ. Das sei zur Nachahmung empfohlen. Die Scheibe eignet sich hervorragend für's Kopfkino. Allen jenen glücklichen Zeitgenossen, die über eine seehr hochwertige Hifi-Anlage oder eine seehr hochwertige Kopfhörer- / Kopfhörerverstärker-Kombi verfügen, sei folgendes gesagt: Es lohnt sich, dem vorhandenen audiophilen Repertoir aus Stockfish, Inakustik, blue note oder Telarc-Scheiben, diese Scheibe hinzuzufügen. Sie ist aussergewöhnlich und klanglich höchstwertig. Sie will jedoch gehört werden, sonst wird sich verstauben... ...oder Eine für die Insel werden... VG *JvA*

Otro de los mejores trabajos de Steven Wilson. Un álbum excelente de principio a fin. El LP llegó en perfectas condiciones.

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