Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Kscope, 2015)
The chameleon of progressive rock is back with a new album titled Hand. Cannot. Erase. Wilson likes to experiment and every one of his albums is a different experience. The Raven was a straight ahead progressive rock album. Hand. Cannot. Erase., his fourth studio album, however, goes in multiple directions.
The first two opening pieces, ‘First Regret’ and ‘3 Years Older’ certainly take into prog territory. ‘First Regret’ is a short instrumental introduction that leads into the lengthy ‘3 Years Older’ which delivers unexpected time signatures, folk-rock harmonies, and mellotron. Spectacular keyboardist Adam Holzman (who participated in The Raven) is back with his signature solos.
The title track ‘Hand Cannot Erase’ is essentially a pop song. It sounds like a cross between The Police and Coldplay.
‘Perfect Life’ is a beautiful dreamy piece with mesmerizing spoken word by Katherine Bagley and Wilson on lead vocals supported by outstanding arrangements and spacey guitar.
Track 5, ‘Routine’ begins as a piano ballad. The most significant part of this piece is the superb guitar solo by Guthrie Govan.
‘Home Invasion’ takes you into solid prog territory with an abundance of instrumental exploration, combining fusion, hard rock, and jamming.
The most progressive piece by far is ‘Regret #9,’ an instrumental with two distinct parts. The first section is a knockout jazz-rock synth solo by Holzman. It’s followed by an equally impressive electric guitar solo by Guthrie Govan.
‘Transience’ is a brief delightful solo work, a musical vignette featuring Wilson on vocals, mellotron and acoustic guitars.
The longest piece is ‘Ancestral,’ clocking over 13 minutes. This is where prog rock meets post rock, with shoegazing vocals sections that are followed by intense guitar solos. The final part goes into a frenzy of hard rock.
‘Happy Returns’ is a sing-along ballad, with still more notable guitar work by Guthrie Govan.
The album concludes with a very short cinematic instrumental titled ‘Ascendant Here On…’
This album comes in several versions, ranging from CD/DVD and vinyl to Blue-Ray.
The lineup includes Steven Wilson on vocals, guitar, mellotron, bass, keyboards; Guthrie Govan on guitar; Adam Holzman on keyboards; Nick Beggs on bass and stick; and Marco Minneman on drums.
Guests featured: Dave Gregory on guitars; Chad Wackerman on drums; Ninet Tayeb on vocals; Theo Travis on flute and baritone saxophone; Katherine Jenkins on spoken word; Leo Blair on solo vocals (track 5); Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School; and London Session Orchestra.
Buy Hand. Cannot. Erase. in north America