Grace for Drowning

by Steven Wilson

Overview

For prolific British progressive rocker Steven Wilson, the two-CD set Grace for Drowning is his second official solo album, following 2008's Insurgentes. Recording under his own name, Wilson tends to fall somewhere between his popular Porcupine Tree group project and his ambient recordings as Bass Communion. Grace for Drowning's two discs are divided into one called Deform to Form a Star and another called Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye, both named after tracks on them. In the relatively sparse lyrics that Wilson sings with a calm, British-accented tenor, he seems melancholy at first, apparently suffering from the aftermath of a romantic breakup. "There's nothing left for me to say or do," he declares in "Postcard." By the second disc, he has become angrier about the situation, but the closing title track finds him reaching resolution and moving on. The words are spread out over music that builds and ebbs in a manner that allows for different styles and soloing by Wilson and a few musical guests. He is not abashed about evoking his prog predecessors. The obvious antecedent is Pink Floyd, particularly recalled in the space rock of "No Part of Me." The 23-minute "Raider II," coming toward the end, allows room for a flute-and-piano section that could have been excerpted from a Traffic album as well as guitar-bass-drum sections in rapid 6/4 time suggestive of Yes. By the end, Wilson has subsided into an ambient coda on "Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye," as if readying himself for the next Bass Communion album. Grace for Drowning has a particular conception in terms of its emotional journey from sadness through anger to acceptance, but it is also just another in a lengthy discography of albums by Wilson under various names in relatively similar styles. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	01/19/2024
Label:	Snapper / Transmission
UPC:	0802644835174
Rank:	48726

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Steven Wilson   Primary Artist,Bass,Gong,Bells,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Clapping,Harmonium,Keyboards,Percussion,Glockenspiel,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Nylon String)
Trey Gunn   Guitar (Bass),Guitar
Nic France   Drums
Mike Outram   Guitar
Pat Mastelotto   Drums,Electronic Drums
Ben Castle   Clarinet
Jordan Rudess   Piano,Soloist
Markus Reuter   Guitar
Theo Travis   Flute,Soloist,Clarinet,Saxophone,Sax (Soprano)
Steve Hackett   Guitar
Nick Beggs   Bass,Stick,Soloist,Guitar (Bass)
London Session Orchestra   Strings
Sand Snowman   Guitar (Acoustic)
Synergy Vocals   Choir/Chorus
Dave Stewart   Strings,Orchestra
Jordan Rodess   Piano
Tony Levin   Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Matt Collis   Engineer
Pat Mastelotto   Additional Production
Steven Wilson   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Programming
Paschal Byrne   Mastering
Carl Glover   Design,Artwork
Lasse Hoile   Filmmaker,Photography
Dave Kerzner   Sound Design
Dave Stewart   Arranger,Orchestration,Choir Arrangement
Alx Leeks   Assistant
Andy Lett   Management
Bettina Ejlersen   Assistant