Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson To Release Second Solo Album 'Grace For Drowning'
Friday, 05 August 2011
Written by Ben Bland
On 26th September, Steven Wilson, the mastermind behind progressive rock giants Porcupine Tree, releases his second solo album. A double record, this album follows 2009’s critically acclaimed ‘Insurgentes’ and is what Wilson himself calls “my biggest project to date”.
‘Grace for Drowning’ comes as two 40-45 minute records in one package. The first, ‘Deform to Form a Star’ could be described as more typical Wilson material, although it is clear that this time he has tried to combine all his musical loves more than ever before. ‘Remainder the Black Dog’ cements the fact that Wilson has moved on to pastures that he has rarely visited before. The album as a whole is a thrilling journey through all sorts of different forms of progressive and experimental music. Wilson has clearly been influenced heavily by his work remixing the classic King Crimson records of the seventies and eighties, as well as by jazz. Indeed, he is proud of the fact that on this record he has used not just musicians from the world of rock but also from the world of jazz.
Nowhere is this more apparent than on ‘Raider II’, a truly stupendous 23 minute slab of progressive jazz. The penultimate track of second disc ‘Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye’, this piece takes the listener on a journey that feels like just a few seconds despite its epic running time. ‘Index’, meanwhile is a surprising detour that takes Steven Wilson closer to electronic pop music than, daresay, most of his fans ever expected he would go. The eclecticism of the record is not a novelty however. It is obvious that Wilson lives and breathes every second of this record. Where ‘Insurgentes’ always felt like it was rooted in Wilson’s past work, ‘Grace for Drowning’ feels like something new. When it is released it will surely have the music world once again praising a musician whom, despite never breaking into the mainstream, remains one of the most influential and important British artists around.
‘Grace for Drowning’ is released via K-Scope on 26th September. Steven Wilson plays London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on 31st October. See www.gracefordrowning.com for details.
Stereoboard will have full reviews of both the album and the London show.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
