Steven Wilson fans have been primed for
The Future Bites since he released
To the Bone in 2017. That record, and the preceding
4½ EP, were deliberately "pop" responses to his three-album dalliance with prog --
Raven That Refused to Sing, Hand. Cannot. Erase, and
Grace for Drowning. In contrast to the above,
The Future Bites is a slick exercise in
Wilson's oft-articulated love of synth pop and electronic music. It's a loose concept set about the treachery that rampant consumerism foists upon the world, and the danger a technological society imposes on personal identity.
Given the musical m.o. here, it should come as no surprise that the production on these nine songs is slick, even icy. It contrasts sharply with most of
Wilson's songwriting that remains saturated in welcoming, effusive melodies and hooks. On most tracks, guitars and drums are subservient to keyboards and electronic rhythms and soundscapes. As usual, the studio cast is stellar. It includes keyboardists
Adam Holzman and
Richard Barbieri, bassist
Nick Beggs, drummer
Michael Spearman, sonic architect and beat maestro
Faultline (
David Kosten), and backing vocalists Wendy Harriott,
Bobbie Gordon, and Crystal Williams.
Set highlights include "King Ghost," which eschews conventional instrumentation in favor of dark, brooding, quasi-futurist electronics. They simultaneously reflect, "Memorabilia"-era
Soft Cell, middle period
Talk Talk, and Oil & Gold-era
Shriekback. That said, the song's subtle, airy melody is infectious, nearly hummable above the layered electronics. "12 Things I Forgot" is the most formally constructed pop song here. It's framed by conventional guitars, organic drums, basses, and Rhodes piano, and glorious backing vocals from the
Mystery Jets. The hooky melody walks a strange and circuitous path between vintage
Todd Rundgren, early
Aztec Camera, and
Difford & Tilbrook. Weirdly, it contains a tagline hook straight out of
Peter Frampton's "I Want You (To Show Me the Way)." "Eminent Sleaze" delivers a sinister muscular beat driven by a bass-and-drum vamp that eerily recalls
Dr. John's "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" atop a spooky string chart and exponentially layered synthetic handclaps.
Wilson adds a wonky
Adrian Belew-esque guitar break, propelled by
Beggs' nasty Chapman Stick and
Holzman's restrained keys. The electro-disco of "Personal Shopper" channels
Human League,
Kraftwerk, and
Giorgio Moroder. Its lyric is drenched in irony as
Elton John reads from a shopping list of "shit you never knew you liked," including "deluxe box sets" (a piss take, both men are guilty of releasing them). "Man of the People" is a lovely, alienated, bittersweet ballad adorned by
Barbieri's heavenly soundscape as guitars, pillowy beats, and atmospherics frame
Wilson's lovely faux-soul vocal. In sum, those who had trouble with
To the Bone,
Wilson's well-executed homage to the progressive pop of
Kate Bush,
Tears for Fears, and
Peter Gabriel, may have even more with this. Most fans, however, especially more recent ones, shouldn't find
The Future Bites an inconsistent entry in
Wilson's catalog, but an arguably minor one that steps sideways instead of forward. ~ Thom Jurek