Album Details

• Artist: Steve Wilson
• Album: Insurgentes
• Label: Headphone Dust / Tonefloat / Kscope
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2009-03-13

Session guest and noted band member (Porcupine Tree, Opeth, No-Man), this genre and at times mind-bending release is the first full-length by Steven Wilson under his own name. By drawing on his eclectic tastes, which have been made good use of in the varied styles of the bands he has played in, Insurgentes is chock full of wildly careening musical moods. From harsh noise to ballads, from drone to dark ambient, this covers a lot of ground. And really, there isn't much chaff, nor any sense that Wilson is either showing off or grabbing at straws. He firmly understands the emotional potential of each style he tackles, which makes each track ring true, and often powerful.

From the hook-laden "Harmony Korine" to the stark "Get All You Deserve," to the brooding "Salvaging" and the epic grit of "No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun," Wilson's dark landscape brims with intellectual resignation, but also defiance. This is a record that is confident in its opinions, and is precise in what needs to be done hammer its message home.

Wilson is joined on ""Insurgentes" by a pretty impressive list of musicians, including bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson) drummer Gavin Harrison, with Thero Davis on sax and Michiyo Yagi on traditional Japanese koto. Steven Wilson has learned much in his travels through the various genres explored in his career. This solo effort, which also comes with a bonus live DVD, continues that exploration, only now he is out in front, and it is his show.

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