THE FUTURE BITES (Deluxe Edition)

Different for Wilson. A solid listen and grows in appreciation on each listening. Well recorded and produced.

Anyone who is a TRUE fan of SW knows he's been a fan of pop and electronic music his whole life. It was only a matter of time before he would release a record like this under his own name. Decades of electronic pop with No-Man with Tim Bowness and his occasional foray into pop with some of his solo work gave us a glimpse into his pop sensibilities. But this record is unlike a pop album. It's experimental sounds, incredible production, lush multi-part melodies, and yes, pop music woven into SW's ordinarily rock-oriented compositions. There's no "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" on this record. We do get what feels like an extended version of something from "Voyage 34" on here with 'Personal Shopper' (My least favorite track, but listen to it enough and you really hear SW in his full bore - cynical, biting and brilliant.) Overall, this record is a departure from SW's prior solo work which felt more King Crimsonish and even Yes or approaching some levels of Pink Floyd. Certainly there's no metal from his earlier Porcupine Tree days. It's a softer, gentler musical SW, but a biting, socially commenting SW who takes his disdain for commercialism and modern politicians right up front into the music now. It's a trip on headphones, totally unique from anything he's really done under his own name, and you'll either love it or hate it, or it will, like it did for me, grow on you as you give it more listens. A superb effort and so much better than To the Bone, IMO. Cheers!

When this album first dropped I grabbed it. It was so different than anything SW had done before that it was almost a shock. I gave it a listen and shelved it. I tried again a few months later and I enjoyed it much more. It’s sonically amazing. I tried this deluxe version today. Highly enjoyable and some great bonus content even though I’m not big into Pop. Give it a try…or give it another try.