Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Wilson, Steven
Label: Kscope
Release: 2015
Duration: 65:44
Rating: 5/5
Of all the modern progressive rock musicians, the multitalented genius Steven Wilson has surely done the most to promote and advance this long-unpopular musical movement. Ever since he put Porcupine Tree on the ‘back burner’ indefinitely after the album »The Incident« (2009), he has thrown himself into an equally prolific and ambitious solo career, in which he has so far recorded three excellent studio albums. His many side projects, his production work and his remixes of some prog rock classics, which successfully stir up interest in the golden years of prog even among younger listeners, are equally invaluable contributions to the modern prog scene, where Steven has long since become the most important player and patron.
»Hand. Cannot. Erase« is Steven’s fourth solo album and marks a noticeable stylistic shift from its gloomy predecessor »The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Short Stories)« (2013). The atmosphere is less dark, though, as is typical of Wilson, it’s still an unmistakably melancholic piece of work with plenty of contemplative moments. Stylistically there’s much less emphasis on jazz, partly thanks to the absence of woodwind player Theo Travis (Soft Machine Legacy, Gong), while Steven flirts repeatedly with pop rock, electronic elements, prog metal and the symphonic progressive rock of the seventies.
Apart from Travis, who this time appears only as a guest on the track »Happy Returns« (which also features cult drummer Chad Wackerman, ex-Frank Zappa), Steven managed to keep the whole backing band from the previous album. They remain loyal to him on the live tours too, and the lineup is made up of virtuosos like the cult bassist/Chapman Stick player/backing vocalist Nick Beggs (Kajagoogoo, Steve Hackett), the guitar oddball Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats, ex-Asia), the drumming maniac Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats, Joe Satriani) and the highly esteemed jazz keyboardist Adam Holzman (best known as a session player who, over his career, also worked with Miles Davis). A lineup like that lets the tireless musical workaholic Wilson, who, on top of singing, playing guitar and keyboards, producing and composing, is of course also the author of all the lyrics, fully realize his highly ambitious ideas, and »Hand. Cannot. Erase« is anything but short on those.
Like its predecessor, »Hand. Cannot. Erase« is a concept album, but this time it’s inspired by the true story of Joyce Carol Vincent (1965-2003). Most of the songs tell the harrowing tale of a young woman who lived in London and all of a sudden ‘vanished’. She abruptly quit her job and cut off all contact with the outside world (reportedly because of domestic violence). Nobody noticed her disappearance (and later her death), not even after almost three years, even though she was beautiful, popular and had lots of (apparently fake) friends. Not even the sound of a TV left on constantly, nor the overpowering stench drifting out of her flat, was enough to make anyone knock on her door in all that time. Only the unpaid bills and taxes led to the flat finally being broken into, and what they found at the end was what remained of her body (a skeleton), surrounded by unopened Christmas presents (the exact cause of death is still unclear), which once again speaks volumes about the brutality and perversity of modern neoliberal society, where the ‘only eternal things’ are taxes and death.
Wilson got the idea for the »Hand. Cannot. Erase« concept from the documentary drama »Dreams of a Life«, which tells the story of Vincent’s life, after which he changed the life story of his concept’s protagonist a bit, giving her Italian roots and a younger sister. It’s good to know he remains a sharp social critic and keeps a high level of empathy for those who’ve been ground down by the machinery of modern society.
Among the album’s best moments, which, as is Steven’s old habit, is stuffed full of Mellotron, is definitely the ten-minute treat »3 Years Older«, loaded with symphonic prog rock and prog metal elements, where all the virtuosos get plenty of room for some instrumental ‘stretching’ right in the intro. The title track, meanwhile, with its shattering message, is an interesting excursion into pop rock, which isn’t unusual at all for Steven, who created quite a few similar pop-flavored songs in the Porcupine Tree days. On »Perfect Life«, where the spoken word comes from the well-known Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, Wilson plays around with ambient electronic elements, while one of the album’s strongest moments is the dark »Routine«, which tells of the daily routine of an exhausted, depressed woman who lost a child in a school shooting rampage. Here Steven is joined harmoniously on lead vocals by a special guest, the Israeli singer Ninet Tayeb.
»Home Invasion« is a potent blend of jazz fusion, new wave and psychedelia, where all the musicians involved get plenty of space for colorful improvisations. Also worth singling out is the more than thirteen-minute epic »Ancestral«, which is the artistic climax of the whole album and where Mr. Wilson once again shows off his many diverse musical influences. »Ascendant Here On…« is a typical Wilson album closer, where, during the singing of the chorus, a bittersweet mix of nostalgia and melancholy finally takes over.
Steven Wilson remains the guiding light of modern progressive rock even after the excellent »Hand. Cannot. Erase«, an album where, while blending a wide range of musical influences, he uses a moving concept to put forward some very welcome and refreshing ideas. There’s really no reason to be surprised, because the master remains the master, with a top-notch team of musicians assisting him the whole way, so this album, which will undoubtedly rank among the main contenders for prog record of the year, holds some of the most powerful messages of his career so far. Steven’s somewhat controversial decision to let Porcupine Tree, whom he’ll almost certainly revive someday, become just one of his side projects, after he put the solo career first following the unexpected success of »The Raven That Refused to Sing«, saddened many, if not outright angered them, but he knows full well where his artistic heart is right now, and as long as he keeps making albums as good as »Hand. Cannot. Erase«, there’s no reason at all to be in a bad mood.
Line-up
Steven Wilson – lead vocals, guitar, Mellotron, keyboards, bass guitar, banjo, hammered dulcimer, programming, effects
Guthrie Govan – guitar
Nick Beggs – bass guitar, Chapman Stick, backing vocals)
Adam Holzman – keyboards
Marco Minnemann – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Dave Gregory – guitar (tracks 2, 3 and 10)
Chad Wackerman – drums (6)
Ninet Tayeb – vocals (5 and 9)
Theo Travis – flute and baritone saxophone (9)
Katherine Jenkins – spoken word (4)
Leo Blair – solo vocals (5)
Schola Cantorum Of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School – choir (5, 10 and 11)
London Session Orchestra – orchestral arrangements (9 and 10)
Production
Steven Wilson
Track list
1. First Regret (2:01)
2. 3 Years Older (10:18)
3. Hand Cannot Erase (4:13)
4. Perfect Life (4:43)
5. Routine (8:58)
6. Home Invasion (6:24)
7. Regret #9 (5:00)
8. Transience (2:43)
9. Ancestral (13:30)
10. Happy Returns (6:00)
11. Ascendant Here On…(1:54)
