Gavin Harrison - Cheating the Polygraph (2015)

Rearranging classic songs from a different genre is often a recipe for disaster. When metal bands cover pop songs, they usually get lazy, just adding heavy guitars, plus maybe some screaming and a guitar solo. Then there are the half-assed acoustic/unplugged versions that rock bands often make of their songs that were ballads already.

When Gavin Harrison announced that he would release a collection of reworked big band versions of Porcupine Tree songs, I had a good reason to be slightly skeptical. However, as someone who has never really listened to jazz I was also curious to hear a new take on songs I love. Furthermore, my doubts faded when I read a press release where Harrison said he'd worked on the album for 5 years with "some of the world's best contemporary jazz players", so I knew this isn't just a quick cash grab, but a project he had put a lot of effort into.

On Cheating the Polygraph several Porcupine Tree classics have experienced a makeover: the guitars, keyboards and vocals have been replaced with big bang instruments, such as trumpet, saxophone, trombone, etc. However, the only thing these versions have in common with the original songs are the structures and themes, as some songs have been combined into medleys, the tempos are more varied and the songs get a totally different feel because of the rich details of the instrumentation. The songs may seem unrecognizable at first, but you'll notice familiar themes, such as the guitar solo to "Sound of Muzak", if you listen attentively enough.

Harrison and bassist/arranging partner Laurence Cottle have done a great job with the arrangements, and the songs are never parodies or funny in any way like some remakes of rock and metal songs on YouTube (check out the reggae version of Symphony of Destruction, for example). The dynamics of Porcupine Tree's songwriting have also been retained: the parts that were heavy in the original songs still sound loud, while the quiet moments have less things going on. The way the horns replicate the guitar riffs in "The Pills I'm Taking" is just perfect, and the aggressive breakdown before the final chorus is still there. There are also extra instruments adding color, such as the marimba on "Hatesong/Halo", played by Harrison himself.

My only tiny gripe with Cheating the Polygraph is that a few of the transitions in the medleys sound a little awkward to my ears, but maybe that's just me. It also remains to be seen how often I'm going to be in the mood for jazz/big band music and listen to these versions instead of Porcupine Tree's originals. However, this is a great release that can be recommended to anyone who likes either Porcupine Tree or jazz, or is an open-minded music listener in general.

Rating: 4/5

Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015)

"When the world doesn't want you

It will never tell you why

You can shut the door but you can't ignore

The crawl of your decline"

I know this album came out over three months ago, but I plan on reviewing all the new releases I've heard this year and this is one of them. Hand. Cannot. Erase. is Steven Wilson's fourth studio album. While Wilson is best known for his work with the popular modern prog band Porcupine Tree, in the past five years he has concentrated on his solo career and put his former main band on ice.

In true progressive rock fashion, Hand. Cannot. Erase. is a concept album. Wilson was inspired by the story of Joyce Vincent, who isolated herself from her friends and family, and her remains weren't found until over two years after her death in her London apartment. It's disturbing to think your death could go unnoticed for such a long time! Disappearing in a big city is a lot easier than it may seem, even in the age of social media.

The album itself isn't specifically about Vincent, but there are certain parallels to her life, mixed with Steven Wilson's personal memories and experiences, along with pure fiction. The lyrics leave a lot of things open, but visiting the protagonist's blog may either be of help or leave you even more confused. Reportedly the deluxe box edition of the album includes more clues as well.

Musically Hand. Cannot. Erase. is more modern-sounding than Wilson's previous solo efforts. There are electronic drum loops and effects in numerous songs, most notably in "Perfect Life", which is an almost completely electronic song and includes spoken word narration by Katherine Jenkins. To be honest I wasn't very impressed by the song when it was released as a video ahead of the album back in February, but hearing it in the album context makes it work much better.

The album offers a little bit of something for everyone and works as a sort of cross section of Wilson's musical history, as besides electronic music it includes pop rock (title track, "Happy Returns"), metal ("Home Invasion", "Ancestral"), ambient ("First Regret"), psychedelic folk ("Transience") and of course prog. While the album is not as band-oriented as its precedessor, The Raven that Refused to Sing (2013), Wilson's backing musicians get to shine throughout the album. My personal favorite song, the melancholy "Routine" features a memorable guitar solo by Guthrie Govan and beautiful female vocals by Ninet Tayeb. "Home Invasion" begins with rhythmic riffing, and Marco Minnemann gets to show how off his groovy drumming in the funky part of the song. "Regret #9" is devoted to soloing by Govan and keyboardist Adam Holzman, whose Moog playing is fantastic. Nick Beggs is a multi-talent, playing both bass and Chapman Stick, as well as contributing backing vocals - his melodic bassline in the title track (which would be a massive radio hit in a perfect world) is especially brilliant.

While Steven Wilson's previous solo albums had their moments, and I thought The Raven that Refused to Sing was a fairly solid record, none of them had the same magic as Porcupine Tree's best releases. However, Hand. Cannot. Erase. has absolutely blown me away, and I consider it the best release Wilson has contributed to since my favorite Porcupine Tree record, Fear of a Blank Planet (2007). I also saw the Helsinki show of the current world tour in April, and it was probably the best concert I've ever attended. The amount of detail and effort put into the music, the concept and the visual representation of the songs on the tour just makes this more than an album - Hand. Cannot. Erase. is a world in itself, and I seriously believe that in ten years it will be remembered as a milestone of Steven Wilson's career. A future classic for sure!

Rating: 5/5

(I realize that both of the albums I've reviewed so far have received 5 stars, but I swear that won't be the case with every review, haha! Also, Steven Wilson's music is not - and most likely never will be, considering his stance on the consumption of music nowadays - on Spotify, so you'll have to settle for the music video of Perfect Life instead of the full album.)