前卫摇滚吧 关注：1,780贴子：6,211
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Despite all of this praise, I can't help but feel as though something's missing here. It might have to do with the overall lack of these more self-contained, concise moments, but the aforementioned worldbuilding could stand to be reined-in at times. While the extended, sprawling pieces are neat from a conceptual and atmospheric perspective, they also make The Harmony Codex more emotionally distant at times and -- dare I say -- even a bit hollow. I did mention earlier that "Economies of Scale" was like a way of connecting The Future Bites and The Harmony Codex together, and this does apply to some of the other songs as well. Unfortunately, that also comes with the former album's baggage, whether it be in moments of questionable songwriting, dull vocal inflections, or an overly synthetic vibe.
Unlike this previous album, Steve Wilson has no idea what kind of album he wanted here; that's why it comes as a more diverse album. If "Futur Bitres" has not reached a consensus amongst critics and fans, this one could do the same if you expect music in the style of his first solo albums on every song. After the first three songs, I was about to give up on less-inspired electronic pop songs. But then in the song "Impossible Tightrope" the magic started to happen with the electric guitar, and it was the first rock song that took us back to the albums "Raven" and "Grace for Drowning". After those songs, every song is much more inspiring, even though we are far away from the shredding guitars of his previous releases before "Futur Bites". The music can sound like a soundtrack with various atmospheres. "Rock Bottom" with Nanet singing can sound similar to the song "Don't Give Up," but with a nice guitar solo added. "Beautiful Scarecrow" shows a Peter Gabriel soundtrack style of music. The title track is a beautiful ambient song bringing to mind the dreaming state of a dystopian world, a recurrent theme in Steve Wilson's imagination. "Time is Running Out" is in the style of "Futur Bites," with some electronic pop music, cool voice effects, and nice percussion patterns. "Actual Brutal Facts" has a nice crescendo where the guitars are more incisive until the end. "Staircase" is in the style of the "To The Bone" album, with a pop influence and a terrific bass part in the middle before returning to the dream state of the title track. We have come to a full circle...
