Steven Wilson The Harmony Codex 2LP (Orange Vinyl)

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Steven Wilson is an English musician and record producer. Currently a solo artist, he became known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the band Porcupine Tree. He has also worked with artists such as Opeth, King Crimson, Pendulum, XTC, Tears for Fears and Roxy Music. His honors include four Grammy® nominations: twice with Porcupine Tree, once with his collaborative band Storm Corrosion and once as a solo artist. The Harmony Codex is his most ambitious album to date. 2LP set on orange colored vinyl.

It's a record that falls well within the zone that Wilson has cultivated for nigh on four decades now with angular art rock slipping gently into the waters of ambient and drone. It doesn't hurt that he has a deep Rolodex of musicians he can call on to help flesh out his vision, which here meant phoning Sam Fogarino of Interpol, Meat Beat Manifesto's Jack Dangers and session bassist extraordinaire Guy Pratt. Wilson maintains a firm grip on the wheel no matter who is adding their $0.02. In that, the album seems to be about the uncertainty of a world that barely survived a pandemic and has many other troubles to face down now and in the immediate future. That doesn't make the music relentlessly bleak, however, as much of it is entirely beautiful with 'Economies of Scale' using a madrigal of multi-tracked voices over a lovely skittering programmed beat, and vocalist Ninet Tayeb bringing a shock of color to the gray overtones of 'Rock Bottom.'

The unbridled raucousness of the Side B opener 'Impossible Tightrope' will test the limits of your volume knob, while the almost-ten-minute synthfest title track that ends Side C deftly blends Mike Oldfield sensibilities with the tenets of Gil Mellé's still-unsettling electro-theme to Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The final, loop-laden track on Side D, 'Staircase,' unravels in a slow-but-steady climb across its nine minutes that breathes and dreams right into the runout groove. It's a track that couldn't really start a side nor be nestled between other Codex songs, in turn showing that Wilson also understands how to sequence LP sides as much as he knows how to challenge the width of a soundstage. Truly Harmonious.

This dynamic recording will put your system to the test—be sure your subwoofer is up to the task.