“I’ve changed the flavour of the music by trying to write in a more positive way and I’ve changed the structures by writing in a more concise way, but not to the extent of dumbing down or simplifying my vision in any way” – SW

To that end, Steven’s ambitious and stylistically diverse songs often go off-roading rather than stay confined to the grid maps that conventional songwriters follow. That’s as true of the three-minute “Permanating” (whose arrangement continually undulates like the steps of an escalator), as it is of the nine-minute “Detonation” (whose three movements unfold with the complexity and precision of a battleground manoeuvre).

In an era in which much music is recorded on laptops and utilises off-the-shelf sounds, SW and co-producer Paul Stacey created aural panoramas through their own artisanal studio craft. Paul encouraged SW to focus on performance rather perfection. Result? These recordings carry the electrical charge of musicians playing as if they’re touching the third rail. Steven approached his guitar solos with derring-do swagger. On songs such as “Refuge”, “Song of Unborn”, and “Detonation”, his voice bears the full emotional weight of the lyrics.

Although much of the album examines the worrying state of the modern world, To the Bone also includes moments of surprising playfulness and exuberance. To the Bone is unmistakably a Steven Wilson album—one that marshals his distinctive musical qualities in fresh idioms.

In the first instalment of this two-part conversation, Steven offers insights about each track on To the Bone.