Last modified on Fri 29 Jan 2021 05.18 EST
Much to the chagrin of hardcore elements of his fanbase, the one-time âking of progressive rockâ is exploring dance, electronica and contemporary pop these days. Wilson has rebuffed their cries that itâs ânot progâ by emphasising an artistâs prerogative to develop and challenge audience expectations. The 51-year oldâs sixth solo album is the one-time guitar virtuosoâs least guitar-oriented collection yet. A general theme of âhow the human brain has evolved in the internet eraâ has led him to reflect on consumerism, algorithms, web-era shopping and a general discourse on how technology and marketing have transformed modern life.
Ever heard a Tool or Nirvana song played on a dulcimer?
Inventive musicians are always coming up with ways to perform creative cover versions of their favorite songs; Anthony Bones Reid is no exception. The Pennsylvania-based performer, who records under the moniker Horns of Pan, has plied YouTube with some well-known rock and metal songs performed on the yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer. Unsurprisingly, they sound exquisitely exotic.
Watch a handful of them down toward the bottom of this post.
Reid s anything if not prolific. In the last couple of years, the musician has filmed himself playing yangqin covers of Tool s Lateralus, Nirvana s Heart-Shaped Box, Opeth s Patterns in the Ivy, the Cure s Close to Me and Porcupine Tree s Lazarus, in addition to several others.
Subscription Notification
We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. Please update your billing details here
Please update your billing information
The subscription details associated with this account need to be updated. Please update your billing details here to continue enjoying your subscription.
Your subscription will end shortly
Please update your billing details here to continue enjoying your access to the most informative and considered journalism in the UK.
Former Porcupine Tree man Steven Wilson excels his ambitions on solo album number six…
Words: James Hickie
If you want an insight into why The Future Bites sounds the way it does, look no further than the album’s fourth track, 12 THINGS I FORGOT, and the lyric, ‘
I just sit in the corner complaining / Making out things were best in the eighties’. We can’t attest to Steven Wilson’s status as a curmudgeon – he’s always seemed a jolly nice bloke to us – but he’s certainly made no secret here of his love for the music from the ‘Greed decade’.
/ 28 January 2021 1849 Views
Expecting the unexpected has been the listener’s default position since Steven Wilson called time on Porcupine Tree and embarked on an increasingly storied solo career. Since 2008’s eclectic debut Insurgentes, he’s done a jazz-inflected opus (Grace For Drowning), indulged his love of classic prog (The Raven That Refused To Sing) and inched ever closer to the mainstream via the poignant Hand. Cannot. Erase. and the eminently accessible To The Bone. Whether he likes it or not, Wilson remains prog’s poster boy and he teeters on the very tipping point of major mainstream success as he releases his sixth full-length solo LP. At such a stage, lesser performers might freeze like rabbits in the headlights and bottle it completely or play it safe and simply whack out To The Bone Vol 2. If you’ve followed Wilson’s career, though, it won’t surprise you to discover he’s stuck his neck out and done something completely different wi