STEVEN WILSON, THE OVERVIEW

To Steven Wilson, 2001: A Space Odyssey is the defining film about space—not as a conquered frontier or a backdrop for adventure, as many movies depict, but as a vast, indifferent expanse of terrifying scale and emptiness where humanity is insignificant. It’s this understanding of space’s true nature that served as the genesis of his new album, The Overview, in which he seeks to capture that of overwhelming perspective.

Inspired by the "overview effect"—the cognitive shift astronauts experience when seeing Earth from space—The Overview mirrors that moment of existential realization. The album consists of two extended compositions: Objects Outlive Us (23 minutes) and The Overview (18 minutes), designed as immersive sonic journeys that take listeners beyond our world. Its structure follows a trajectory from our solar system into deep space, passing celestial landmarks before plunging into the Eridanus Supervoid—a cosmic void spanning 1.8 billion light-years.

Though the album wrestles with existential themes, Wilson does not intend for it to be bleak. Instead, he embraces the idea that humanity’s fleeting existence is something beautiful—a rare and random occurrence in an unfathomably large universe.

Wilson has long been closely associated with progressive rock and often hailed as its torchbearer for decades. Yet he has consistently resisted strict genre classifications. On The Overview, however, he fully embraces progressive rock, citing its grand scale and conceptual ambition as a natural fit for the album’s themes. Still, he avoids predictable prog tropes, favoring dynamic arrangements, melodic motifs, and unexpected production choices.

Lyrically, the album juxtaposes the mundane details of everyday human life with the incomprehensible forces of the cosmos—a contrast he developed with Andy Partridge (XTC), whose observational storytelling helps bridge the two perspectives.

I've always been an enthusiast of long-form musical structures, and this approach naturally fits the album’s themes, reinforcing its cinematic scope. While echoes of Pink Floyd may surface in The Overview, Wilson acknowledges that certain elements might also remind listeners of Blade Runner, a film and soundtrack deeply embedded in his creative DNA. However, he considers his primary influence to be his own evolving body of work, constantly pushing himself to explore new creative terrain without repeating the past.

It’s Wilson’s relentless pursuit of new creative spaces that I admire most about him as an artist. With each new album, he carves out a unique musical world, asking listeners to suspend disbelief—along with their expectations—and embark on a journey with him. With The Overview, that journey becomes a 42-minute celestial odyssey that is immersive, arresting, and a visionary achievement.