Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 17:28:33 GMT 8
Steven Wilson's new studio album, "Hand. Cannot. Erase."
I cannot say enough good things about this album and the concept behind it.
According to Wilson, the album is written from a female perspective, and the concept and story
are inspired by the case of Joyce Carol Vincent, where a woman living in a large city dies in
her apartment and no one misses her for three years, despite her having family and friends.
Wilson explained:
"The basic story, or concept of the record – it's about a woman growing up, who
goes to live in the city, very isolated, and she disappears one day and no one notices.
There's more to it than that. Now, what's really interesting about this story is that your
initial reaction when you hear a story like that is, 'Ah, little old bag lady that no one
notices, no one cares about.' [Vincent] wasn't [like that]. She was young, she was popular,
she was attractive, she had many friends, she had family, but for whatever reason,
nobody missed her for three years."
I cannot say enough good things about this album and the concept behind it.
According to Wilson, the album is written from a female perspective, and the concept and story
are inspired by the case of Joyce Carol Vincent, where a woman living in a large city dies in
her apartment and no one misses her for three years, despite her having family and friends.
Wilson explained:
"The basic story, or concept of the record – it's about a woman growing up, who
goes to live in the city, very isolated, and she disappears one day and no one notices.
There's more to it than that. Now, what's really interesting about this story is that your
initial reaction when you hear a story like that is, 'Ah, little old bag lady that no one
notices, no one cares about.' [Vincent] wasn't [like that]. She was young, she was popular,
she was attractive, she had many friends, she had family, but for whatever reason,
nobody missed her for three years."
Review from The Guardian:
"As modern progressive rock’s undisputed figurehead and chief workaholic, Steven Wilson has little to prove,
and yet his fourth solo album is anything but a cosy reassertion of values. In contrast to his much-lauded
Victorian ghost-stories set The Raven that Refused to Sing from 2013, Hand. Cannot. Erase. is an album rooted
in sonic and spiritual modernity, largely eschewing early prog tropes in favour of an inventive blend of bleak
and brooding industrial soundscapes and rugged, muscular ensemble performances from Wilson’s virtuoso
henchmen. Inspired by the strange real-life story of young and vital Joyce Carol Vincent, who lay dead in her
apartment for nearly three years before being discovered, this is a rich musical journey with numerous moments
of vivid melodic simplicity, but weighed down by thoughts of urban alienation and societal detachment. Wilson’s
refined skill as a songwriter and studio guru combine to fashion songs that deserve a much wider audience than
one that views his work as a modern equivalent of Pink Floyd and Genesis. For them, Guthrie Govan’s sky-scorching
guitar solos will seal the deal; for everyone else, this is a smart, soulful and immersive work of art."