Review Summary: did i dream you, or are you dreaming me now?
Back in 2017, with the release of his fifth solo record To the Bone, there was something of a paradigm shift regarding the general awareness of Steven Wilson’s work. From the origination of Porcupine Tree back in 1992 with On the Sunday of Life, Wilson has long existed on the outside with little to no mainstream recognition. A shame, most definitely, because he’s made more than enough records that could be considered prog-classics in their own right. To the Bone, however, proved to be an astronomical leap forward for Wilson’s underlooked career. All of a sudden, here was this prolific but otherwise unheard of musical geek climbing up the charts and appearing on breakfast telly, nattering about prog. An unexpected development for someone of Wilson’s ilk, but a welcome one, nonetheless. What followed was another attempt at further mainstream approval, but The Future Bites (2021) proved a lukewarm effort at best. It felt hollow; a stab at the mainstream with little appeal to back it up. His reputation as a prog-head appeared to be diminishing (there are those that still haven’t forgiven Wilson for the ABBA-inspired pop tune ‘Permanating’), but with The Harmony Codex, Wilson decides to challenge his listeners once again with something that packs a little bit of everything, with alluring results.
First teased in the guise of a short story at the end of his biography, Limited Edition of One (2022), The Harmony Codex is an ambitious concept record designed, in Wilson’s own words, to be "a genre-spanning collection that opens up like a musical puzzle box”. Its cover artwork – a black-and-white photograph of a towering building with a multi-coloured Tetris-style puzzle piece plastered across it (with each square representing a track on the record) – is eerily ominous and matches the seductive soundscape of the records narrative. Opener ‘Inclination’ is a steady build towards somewhere unknown, a gradual climb towards what will sprawl into a puzzling journey that feels fittingly unearthly. The euphonious ‘What Life Brings’ sits comfortably alongside some of his more mainstream tracks like ‘Nowhere Now’ and ‘12 Things I Forgot’. Early on, we’re hit with ‘Impossible Tightrope’, a dazzling eleven-minute prog track that very much feels like Wilson stepping in to remind some of his more recent naysayers that his affinity for prog has hardly left him throughout his pursuits for mainstream recognition. It begins with a mournful violin intro before gradually kicking into gear with a repetitive, and somewhat funky, psychedelic riff before exploding into a gorgeously chaotic saxophone solo. It’s a fittingly unpredictable piece of work and one of Wilson’s finest on the record, destined to be a fan favourite whenever the live shows come around. And then, of course, there’s another wonderful collaboration with Ninet Tayeb in the form of ‘Rock Bottom’, a solid track that pitches Tayeb’s passionate vocals front and centre. In some respects, ‘Rock Bottom’ feels like a midpoint album finale.
See, as soon as the spellbinding title track comes around, The Harmony Codex re-aligns its focus and begins to feel more conceptually consistent. Sure, I enjoy the first half of the record a lot, and it is a tremendous improvement over anything presented on The Future Bites, but the latter half is where things really begin to accelerate. ‘Beautiful Scarecrow’ is, to my mind, an album standout (be sure to check out the terrific video by regular collaborator, Jess Cope) and paves the way for a truly brilliant second half that delivers some of his finest musical craftsmanship to date. Concluding with the magnificent ‘Staircase’, the record comes together as a perfect amalgamation of all the various musical styles encountered throughout the record. This finale very much vindicates the experimental nature of the record. Perhaps, midway through the record, it is easy to accuse The Harmony Codex of feeling disjointed, but with every listen, the narrative somehow grows stronger and all the strengths of the record are encapsulated in those final eclectic minutes. With The Harmony Codex, Wilson has crafted an appropriate hybrid between To the Bone and The Future Bites, with glimmers of the distant past shining through on occasion. His newfound affinity for electronics remains present, but this time, they’re utilised in a way that’s actually interesting. It is an endlessly curious piece of work that brings together psychedelia, prog, and electronica and absolutely warrants multiple listens. Within these ten tracks, you may find yourself lost in a world that feels very much like a dream from which you might never awaken.
