Steven Wilson remained true to his progressive rock sound with his first three solo albums, and then made a move more toward radio-friendly rock on To The Bone and The Future Bites. Which isn't a criticism – it's what happened, and it was very good! Then Wilson reunited with his former Porcupine Tree bandmates in 2021 and released their new record Closure/Continuation this year.
In an interview with Innerview, Wilson reveals he'll release a new album called The Harmony Codex in 2023 that'll be sure to give progressive rock fans more of what they love.
"I think people who like Porcupine Tree are going to love the direction of this new album," said Wilson. "It’s much more epic and uncompromising. It’s more complex and unpredictable to a degree. After people experience the mercurial nature of this Porcupine Tree album, I think they’re going to look at the new solo album and think highly of it."
Wilson also added that The Harmony Codex falls somewhere between Hand. Cannot. Erase. from 2015 and The Future Bites from 2017, though it won't just be a mashup of those two sounds.
"It's going to maintain a lot of the musical vocabulary from The Future Bites, but it's going back into a more conceptual world, which is less about concise pop songs and more about experimentation. So, in the most simplistic terms, it might be somewhere between Hand. Cannot. Erase. and The Future Bites, but not like either of those records.
"I'm really excited about it. I say that every time I have a new batch of songs, but there's really something unique about these songs. I have a feeling it could be a great record. I think the new album feels almost like the next step from The Future Bites, which was very streamlined and had a very strong pop sensibility. So, I asked myself 'What am I going to do next, given that? Okay, I’m going to take those elements but place them within something more ambitious.' Of course, everything informs everything else. So, I have tracks that have spiritual jazz elements, electronics, moments of progressive rock, voice manipulation, and modern DSP processing."
We'll keep you posted about The Harmony Codex when we know more, but get stoked! It sounds like it'll be a good one.
