Steven Wilson The Overview Blu-Ray Audio Disc

TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 5/5 Sonics in the July/August 2025 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

Steven Wilson releases his eighth studio album, The Overview, on Fiction Records. Two tracks, 42 minutes, wildly ambitious and brilliantly audacious in equal measure, the album features endlessly engaging conceptual lyrics that move seamlessly between the cosmic and the quotidian, set to genre-defying, ultra melodic music… it promises to be an utterly unique release in 2025.

The Overview is a loopy conceptual masterpiece. It ponders the infinitesimally tiny place of humans in the endless space of the universe. There's a lot going on here in composition, performance, and production, but it's always focused, never excessive, and always accessible; in some places, it actually approaches the profound.

Sonically, Wilson offers much to admire, from the majestic cathedral-like echo of 'Objects Outlive Us: No Monkey's Paw' to the trippy space-jazz of 'The Overview: Permanence,' a Blade Runner-esque instrumental. The album's spacey sounds were produced by a 1971-vintage ARP 2600 synth. But it's Wilson's command of melody and harmony, notably on 'The Overview: A Beautiful Infinity / Borrowed Atoms,' that stands out—it's on a par with his 2013 gem The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories). There's a lot to unpack on The Overview and Wilson's fans surely will debate its merits for years to come.