Tuesday, October 25, 2011

#10: Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

Release Year: 2008

Steven Wilson is probably my favorite musician, and his work in 2007-2008 is probably why.  In this general time period, he was involved in Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet, Blackfield's II, and this, his first solo album.

Insurgentes was named after the main drag in Mexico City where this was recorded, and it is more textured, abstract, and electronic than his Porcupine Tree work.  You'll find more variety here than in any of his countless other projects, from straightforward rock ("Harmony Korine"), to loud and discordant ("Salvaging"), to ambient ("Veneno Para Las Hadas," "Twilight Coda"), to killer bass groove ("No Twilight Within The Courts Of The Sun"), to wall-of-sound (the end of "Get All You Deserve").

This is one of those albums I can listen to nonstop.  It was Wilson's most ambitious work to date, and easily his most beautiful.  At the time, it was also one of the finest sounding albums I had heard, and has only since been matched by some of the other albums he has mixed.

PS: I should note that I think his new solo album, Grace For Drowning, is even better, but since it was released only a month ago, I'm not going to include it.  Just know that it's probably going to be in my top ten when the dust settles.

Standout tracks:
  • Harmony Korine
  • No Twilight In The Courts Of The Sun
  • Significant Other

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