''Hand. Cannot. Erase.'' is the fourth solo studio album by English musician
Steven Wilson. The album was released on 27 February 2015 through
Kscope.
Writing and recording
The album was recorded in September 2014 at
AIR Studios, London, UK.
[Steven Wilson at AIR Studios – September 2014]
. Steven Wilson official Facebook page. Retrieved 10 September 2014 All band members of the previous album are also featured on the new recording.
When discussing the lack of
Theo Travis's input on the record, Steven Wilson described the album as less "jazzy" in comparison to the previous album, featuring only a few parts written for flutes and saxophones.
[Steven Wilson at AIR Studios, London – September 2014]
. Steven Wilson official YouTube channel. Retrieved 3 October 2014 Wilson also described the album as more reflective of all of the different material in his back catalogue, featuring elements of electronic music and straightforward pop songs alongside long progressive-oriented tracks.
Alongside Wilson, the album features
Ninet Tayeb on vocals, and the sequences featuring boy choristers is inspired by the track 'All of the Love', from ''
The Dreaming'', an album by
Kate Bush.
[Steven Wilson at AIR Studios – Part 2: Concept and Inspiration]
. Steven Wilson official YouTube channel. Retrieved 4 November 2014
Themes and concept
According to Wilson, the album is written from a female perspective, and the concept and story are inspired by the case of
Joyce Carol Vincent
Joyce Carol Vincent (19 October 1965 – December 2003) was an English woman whose death went unnoticed for more than two years as her corpse lay undiscovered at her bedsit in north London. Prior to her death, she had cut off nearly all contact ...
, where a woman living in a large city dies in her apartment and no one misses her for over two years, despite her having family and friends.
[Steven Wilson Explains New Album's Concept and Inspiration]
. Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 19 November 2014 Wilson explained:
"The basic story, or concept of the record – it's about a woman growing up, who goes to live in the city, very isolated, and she disappears one day and no one notices. There's more to it than that. Now, what's really interesting about this story is that your initial reaction when you hear a story like that is, 'Ah, little old bag lady that no one notices, no one cares about.' incentwasn't ike that She was young, she was popular, she was attractive, she had many friends, she had family, but for whatever reason, nobody missed her for three years."
Release and promotion
The album was released in February 2015.
[Steven Wilson to Release "Hand. Cannot. Erase." in February via Kscope]
. Progsphere. Retrieved 19 November 2014 A deluxe version of the album was also made available as well.
Wilson and his band embarked on a tour through the UK and Europe in March and April 2015 in support of the album, with a setlist that was "based around the new album, of course, as well as casting the net further back into
ispast for a few surprises."
Music from the album started being released to the public in January 2015, when a teaser trailer was released online, accompanied with a link to a blog written by the album's main character – a reclusive artist who writes about her interest in people who go missing and her talent for hiding in public.
[Steven Wilson’s haunting teaser campaign]
. Prog. Retrieved 1 January 2015 On 4 February 2015 a video for "Perfect Life" was released via Wilson's official YouTube channel.
[Steven Wilson – Perfect Life]
. YouTube Retrieved 4 February 2015
Critical reception
''Hand. Cannot. Erase.'' received acclaim from critics.
Metacritic, a
review aggregator, gave the album a
weighted average rating of 89 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim, based on reviews from 8 critics.
[ '' The Guardian'' rated the album five stars and called it "a smart, soulful and immersive work of art".][Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase. review – sonic and spiritual modernity ]
. The Guardian Retrieved 26 February 2015 ''Eclipsed'' magazine described the album as "one more shining jewel in the discography of Steven Wilson. Modern, disturbing, brilliant!" '' Metal Hammer'' awarded ''Hand. Cannot. Erase.'' 6/7 and described it as "another masterpiece".[Steven Wilson – Official Facebook Page]
. Facebook Retrieved 22 February 2015 US website FDRMX rated the album 4.8/5 and stated "''Hand. Cannot. Erase.'' grabs your full attention from the beginning to the very final note, and that's the sign of a great album".[Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase.]
. All About Jazz Retrieved 27 February 2015 Another 5 star review appeared in the March 2015 edition of '' Record Collector'', who praised the album's "Spellbinding poignancy and aching beauty".[Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase. ]
. Record Collector Retrieved 27 February 2015
German magazine ''Visions'' declared ''Hand. Cannot. Erase.'' to be "'' The Wall'' for the Facebook generation".[Steven Wilson – Official Facebook Page]
. Facebook Retrieved 27 February 2015
Track listing
Steven Wilson Reveals Tracklisting, Artwork for 'Hand.Cannot.Erase.'
. Empty Lighthouse Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2014
Personnel
Adapted from ''Hand. Cannot. Erase.'' liner notes.
Band
*
Steven Wilson – lead vocals,
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
(tracks 1–10), keyboards
(tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8), guitars
(tracks 2–10), bass guitar
(tracks 1, 2 and 5–7), banjo
(track 7),
hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...
(track 9),
programming (tracks 1–5, 9 and 10),
shaker
Shaker or Shakers may refer to:
Religious groups
* Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect
* Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination
Objects and instruments
* Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone
* Cock ...
(tracks 3, 5 and 6), effects
(tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9–11)
*
Guthrie Govan
Guthrie Govan (; born 27 December 1971) is an English guitarist and guitar teacher, known for his work with the bands the Aristocrats, Asia, GPS, the Young Punx and the Fellowship, as well as his solo project Erotic Cakes. More recently, he ha ...
– guitar
(tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 9 and 10), lead guitar
(tracks 5, 7 and 9)
*
Nick Beggs – bass guitar
(tracks 3 and 9),
Chapman Stick (tracks 4, 6, 7 and 10), backing vocals
(tracks 2, 4–6, 9 and 10)
*
Adam Holzman – piano
(tracks 1–3, 5–7 and 9–11),
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
(tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9 and 10),
celesta
The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...
(tracks 3, 5 and 9),
Fender Rhodes
The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...
(tracks 3, 4, 6 and 9),
Wurlitzer (track 7),
Moog Voyager synthesizer (track 7)
*
Marco Minnemann – drums
(tracks 2–7 and 9)
Additional musicians
*
Dave Gregory – guitars
(tracks 2, 3 and 10)
*
Chad Wackerman – drums
(track 10)
*
Ninet Tayeb – vocals
(tracks 5 and 9)
*
Theo Travis –
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
and
baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
(track 9)
*Katherine Begley – spoken word
(track 4)
*Leo Blair – solo vocal
(track 5)
*Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School – choir
(tracks 5, 10 and 11)
*
London Session Orchestra –
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
(tracks 9 and 10)
Production
*Steven Wilson – production, composition, arrangements, artwork design
*
Dave Stewart — arrangements, conducting, transcription
*Steve Price – string engineer
*Laurence Anslow – engineer
*Steve Orchard – engineer
*
Lasse Hoile
Lasse Hoile (born 1973 in Aarhus, Denmark) is a Danish artist, photographer and filmmaker. He has collaborated with musician Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree and Blackfield. He has also designed live visuals for US progressive me ...
— artwork,
photography,
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
*Hajo Mueller —
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...
s
*Carl Glover – design, layout
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2015 albums
Steven Wilson albums
Kscope albums
Albums recorded at AIR Studios
Concept albums