Steven Wilson announces details of his eighth studio album ‘The Overview’

Steven Wilson, the world-renowned producer, remixer, originator and songwriter, has announced details of his eighth studio album, The Overview, which is due for release on Fiction Records on 14th March 2025.

The forty-two-minute album is Steven’s most audacious to date. It consists of just two tracks: Objects Outlive Us and The Overview, each inspired by the “overview effect” experienced by astronauts looking back at the Earth from space.

The Overview sees Steven Wilson return to expansive, progressive music, a genre he helped redefine and repopularise with both his solo and Porcupine Tree releases. The two wildly ambitious tracks are each made up of distinctive musical sections that flow from one to the other, playing out as unique and continuous pieces. Wilson’s 21st-century progressive music updates the classic ‘prog’ musical palette to incorporate everything from glistening electronics to post-rock and beyond, which brings the genre right into the beating heart of the current musical landscape.

Of The Overview, Wilson says, “It is a 42-minute long journey based on the reported “overview effect”, whereby astronauts seeing the Earth from space undergo a transformative cognitive shift, most often experiencing an overwhelming appreciation and perception of beauty, and an increased sense of connection to other people and the Earth as a whole. However, not all experiences are positive; some see the Earth truly for what it is, insignificant and lost in the vastness of space, and the human race as a troubled species. As a reflection of that, the album presents images and stories of life on Earth, both good and bad.”

Although initially a solo recording, the finished version of The Overview features studio help from regular collaborators Craig Blundell (drums), Adam Holzman (keyboards) and Randy McStine (guitars) alongside a set of lyrics from XTC’s Andy Partridge that help form the story that drives Objects Outlive Us.

The resulting album has a resolutely singular sound and vision singular that pulls pieces from different periods of Wilson’s thirty-plus-year career. There are nods to classic Porcupine Tree records as well as the world-building storytelling of The Raven That Refused To Sing and the forward-thinking electronics of The Future Bites and the spatial audio vision that ran through 2023’s The Harmony Codex. Consistent with Wilson’s reputation as a modern day producer par-excellence the album is also a true audiophile experience, and to this end spatial / Atmos audio versions of The Overview will be available physically and digitally and vinyl versions of The Overview have been specifically mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road.

The Overview is accompanied by a full-length film made by regular Steven Wilson collaborator Miles Skarin. A premiere for the film and album will take place at London’s iconic BFI IMAX cinema on Tuesday 25th February at 18:00 (screening followed by Q&A). Tickets are on sale Friday 10th January at 12:00 to BFI members; 16:00 to the general public. A trailer for the album featuring images from the film is online now – watch below.

The Overview is instantly recognisable as Steven Wilson and will stand alone as an utterly unique release for 2025. Headphones and a wide-open mind are recommended.

STEVEN WILSON

THE OVERVIEW

OBJECTS OUTLIVE US (23.17)

No Monkey’s Paw

The Buddha Of The Modern Age

Objects: Meanwhile*

The Cicerones

Ark

Cosmic Sons Of Toil

No Ghost On The Moor

Heat Death Of The Universe

THE OVERVIEW (18.27)

Perspective

A Beautiful Infinity I

Borrowed Atoms

A Beautiful Infinity II

Infinity Measured In Moments

Permanence

The Overview was written, produced and mixed by Steven Wilson

*Lyrics on Objects: Meanwhile written by Andy Partridge.

Following the release of The Overview, Steven Wilson will be undertaking an extensive tour of Europe in May and June 2025 which includes four nights at The London Palladium. The dates are:

MAY 2025

01 Cirkus Stockholm Sweden (Sold Out)

02 Konzerthaus Oslo Norway (Sold Out)

04 KB-Halen Copenhagen Denmark

06 Mitsubishi Electric Hall Dusseldorf Germany

07 Cirque Royal Brussels Belgium (Sold Out)

09 Symphony Hall Birmingham UK

10 Beacon Bristol UK (Sold Out)

12 The Palladium London UK (Sold Out)

13 The Palladium London UK (Sold Out)

15 O2 City Hall Newcastle UK

16 Royal Concert Hall Glasgow UK

18 The Lowry Manchester UK (Sold Out)

19 The Palladium London UK

20 The Palladium London UK

22 AFAS Live Amsterdam Netherlands

24 Salle Pleyel Paris France

25 Salle Pleyel Paris France

26 Salle Pleyel Paris France

28 Bourse Du Travail Lyon France

29 Bourse Du Travail Lyon France

30 Porsche Arena Stuttgart Germany

31 Zenith Munich Germany

JUNE 2025

02 Friedrichspalast Berlin Germany

03 Sporthalle Hamburg Germany

04 Torwar Warsaw Poland7.

05 Prezero Gliwice Poland

07 Teatro Degli Arcimboldi Milan Italy

08 Parco Della Musica Rome Italy

10 The Hall Zurich Switzerland

11 Cepac Silo Marseille France

12 Para-Lel 62 Barcelona Spain

13 Riviera Madrid Spain

A series of North & South American dates will be announced in the coming weeks.