Steven Wilson
4 ½
Kscope
2016
Steven Wilson hardly needs an introduction, as he somehow managed to elevate himself from a once unknown entity, to a highly in demand producer, multi-instrumentalist and performer, who has dabbled in too many projects, beside his main body of work with Porcupine Tree.
4½ is a stopgap EP, between Wilson’s previous, fourth album “Hand. Cannot. Erase.” and his next effort and it contains mostly leftover material from those sessions that was worked on again for inclusion here as well a song from his previous album “The Raven that Refused to Sing”. The final song is a duet between Steven and Ninet Tayeb on Porcupine Tree’s “Don’t Hate Me” as performed on Steve’s most recent tour but with additional studio production added later on. In addition almost all of Wilson’s past collaborators seem to make a guest appearance here on some capacity or other.
While the quality of the performances goes without saying, this is a little closer to Wilson’s more experimental side, a bit closer to the norm, if such a thing exists and probably something completists and Wilson-freaks will enjoy a bit more than the casual listener… again if such a thing exists in Steven Wilson’s universe.
4½ is a stopgap EP, between Wilson’s previous, fourth album “Hand. Cannot. Erase.” and his next effort and it contains mostly leftover material from those sessions that was worked on again for inclusion here as well a song from his previous album “The Raven that Refused to Sing”. The final song is a duet between Steven and Ninet Tayeb on Porcupine Tree’s “Don’t Hate Me” as performed on Steve’s most recent tour but with additional studio production added later on. In addition almost all of Wilson’s past collaborators seem to make a guest appearance here on some capacity or other.
While the quality of the performances goes without saying, this is a little closer to Wilson’s more experimental side, a bit closer to the norm, if such a thing exists and probably something completists and Wilson-freaks will enjoy a bit more than the casual listener… again if such a thing exists in Steven Wilson’s universe.