14/03/25 Steven Wilson releases his eighth studio album, The Overview, on Fiction Records. The two track, forty-two-minute album is his most audacious to date, inspired by the “overview effect” experienced by astronauts looking back at the Earth from space. The Overview sees Wilson return to expansive, progressive music, a genre he helped redefine and repopularise with both his solo and Porcupine Tree releases. The two wildly ambitious tracks are each made up of distinctive musical sections that flow from one to the other, playing out as unique and continuous pieces. Wilson’s 21st-century progressive music updates the classic ‘prog’ musical palette to incorporate everything from glistening electronics to post-rock and beyond, which brings the genre right into the beating heart of the current musical landscape. The album also features a set of lyrics by XTC’s Andy Partridge that help drive the story in “Objects Outlive Us”. The Overview is instantly recognisable as Steven Wilson and will stand alone as an utterly unique release for 2025. Headphones and a wide-open mind are recommended.
