Steven Wilson is a prolific Progressive-Rock writer, originally brought to prominence by leading the band Porcupine Tree. His creations are transgressive yet incredibly musical, and have caused a stir in the way 'Prog'-obsessors like myself view the genre. As a solo writer, Wilson has gained traction; his first three solo albums are all highly respected, which comes as no surprise, since it is common knowledge that all of Wilson's previous band projects were with himself as main songwriter. He is an absolute machine of the highest order.


Safe to say, I'm a fan. I pre-ordered Hand. Cannot. Erase two months before its release (immediately after seeing this video, actually), getting the added benefits of the singles being released earlier than the album. As you'll hear Steven himself explain in the video above, it is somewhat of a departure from his previous album 'The Raven that Refused to Sing'. That album was very heavily influenced by Jazz, from its instrumentation alone if nothing more. Notably, the removal of the flute from this album is the main change, which may seem insignificant at first, but over many listens, becomes slyly quite impactful on the overall vibe of the music. Interestingly, the flute has a brief appearance in 'Ancestral', and that is the one song that I believe fits perfectly with the previous release, so the flute can almost become synonymous with his previous album in my mind. There's no cloud of smoke over what is being delivered by Hand. Cannot Erase. It's a straight-up Rock album, or at least by Wilson's standards.

Take a song like the albums title track, for instance.


It is what he described as a simple rock track, despite its 9/8 time signature, and the beautiful interweaving nature of the drum groove, which makes it sound completely regular. In terms of structure and atmosphere, it has everything you'd expect from a commercial rock track. Hell, if you quietened the guitars down and told Marco Minneman to play his kit with slightly less aggression, this is a borderline pop song. Its catchy enough, thats for sure.

But then you're reminded why this is a 'Prog' album the moment you look at the track listing. 8 songs. 64 minutes (ish). My point? If you have a 'straight-up rock song' (lasting 4 1/2 minutes), and incidentally, a 2:30 interlude-type track included in that, how does the album average at 8 minutes per song?! Remove those two tracks and you're looking at 6 songs lasting 57 minutes combined. THAT is how it's a progressive rock album. Ideas are certainly given the space to be explored.

The concept for the album is beautifully powerful also. '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', according the Wilson himself. It's almost entirely written in the 1st person, taking on the identity of the female in question. To compliment this, Wilson uses a female voice at times, both vocally and for some narrative cameo appearances; because of this, parts feel more like 'sonic art' than music at times. Music is very much a compliment to the story-telling that happens throughout the course of the album; it manages to avoid being the main focus, which is truly an inspiring feat to have achieved, when I imagine that most listeners (myself included) are there to hear Wilson's musical creation first and his story-telling a distant second.

The main crux of Hand. Cannot. Erase lies within the 3 songs 'First Regret/ 3 Years Older', 'Home Invasion/ Regret #9' and 'Ancestral'. Those are the daddy-tracks, the epics. I think possibly one of the greater things about the nature of Steven Wilson is that because of his lack of connection to a particular instrument, he almost plays the role of a classical composer in his music. You are predominantly hearing a recording of his compositions played by extremely proficient musicians, and are rarely listening to him directly (other than vocals of course, but at times there are no vocals for quite lengthy stints). It gives the atmosphere of a band more than a solo artist, which is even more poignant when the story-telling takes the focus over the physical vocals themselves, as Steven's presence is barely there. In these three songs in particular you truly get to realise this incredible feat.

But once again that should come as no surprise, because Steven Wilson is exactly that. A composer. It may sound pretentious at times, but he really is a writer first and a performer second, despite having the ability to play the majority of his parts across a multitude of instruments. He's a special man; it really doesn't take much of a keen eye to notice just how transcendent he is within our contemporary world of pop singles and boybands, and this album is purely just another addition to a prolific career. BUT, it's a great addition to that career. BUY THE ALBUM. JUST BUY IT. Also get his previous solo album 'The Raven That Refused to Sing' - they really both show him off very well.

I hope this has made you want to listen to Steven Wilson. If he's your kind of thing, then you're gonna love him. And even if he's not, you can always expand your tastes, right? It'll be worth the effort.