Band:	Steven Wilson
Album:	Insurgentes
Style:	Progressive rock
Release date:	February 16, 2008
A review by:	Jeff

Disc I
01. Harmony Korine
02. Abandoner
03. Salvaging
04. Veneno Para Las Hadas
05. No Twilight Within The Courts Of The Sun
06. Significant Other
07. Only Child
08. Twilight Coda
09. Get All You Deserve
10. Insurgentes

Disc II [DVD-A 5.1 Mix]
01. Harmony Korine
02. Abandoner
03. Salvaging
04. Veneno Para Las Hadas
05. No Twilight Within The Courts Of The Sun
06. Significant Other
07. Only Child
08. Twilight Coda
09. Get All You Deserve
10. Insurgentes
+ "Insurgentes" film material

Disc III [Limited Edition Boxset]
01. Port Rubicon
02. Puncture Wound
03. Collecting Space
04. Insurgentes (Mexico)
05. The 78 [hidden bonus]

Everybody knows Steven Wilson, the charismatic leader of the famous British band Porcupine Tree. Despite the fact that the first Porcupine Tree albums were more or less some kind of solo projects, "Insurgentes" is only his first official solo album. A lot of you are probably expecting a lot of this record and I can tell you that you'll not be disappointed. If you like all Steven's projects, this new release will satisfy your hopes?

"Insurgentes" is a Spanish word which means "insurgent", "rebels" but this is also one of the biggest streets of the world in Mexico City. Even if the name can sound aggressive and even weird for someone like Steven Wilson (who is not some kind of "dirty" rock star) you'll not find anything violent in the album. Its name simply comes from the name of the street because Steven traveled a lot (including Mexico of course but also Japan etc?) during the recording and writing process of the album. Like with Porcupine Tree music, this new release is an interesting piece of dark and sad Progressive music. The main difference between this album and the last PT is that "Inusrgentes" is clearly not Metal. Sure some guitars are a bit over-drived but all in all we're more into the Pink Floyd and Radiohead category than anything else. It doesn't mean of course that it's not good, "Inusrgentes" is just different of what you can know and that's good actually. I doubt that it could be good to have a new kind of Porcupine Tree album under the name of Steven? Here at least we have good melodies with some Pop tunes that's right but the Progressive aspect that we can hear on each songs is just delicious. This is not some kind of commercial music, the songs are all long, deep, complex not especially technical but we have a real spirit, a real soul under each writings. Plus the general sad ambiance of the record is just excellent and probably a lot more touching than a lot of pseudo Gothic releases? Be aware that "Insurgentes" is not a Metal release but if you like Porcupine Tree you'll like this different release.

The album was recorded all around the world but the production is exceptional anyway. The sound is amazing and the performance of Steven (vocals like guitars) is perfect. Of course if you just have a look at the names of the guest featured on the album, you'll not expect anything wrong and you'll be right (how come someone like Rudess or Harisson could be bad?). No really "Insurgentes" is a great album of melancholic rock and I'm quite sure that a lot of people will like it. The only reproach that I could do is that the album is maybe a bit too cold sometime but after all that's how Steven Wilson like to write and play music and if you're already addicted to his music, you'll not find any problem there.

"Inusrgentes" is not an easy of access album but the more you'll listen to it, the more you'll like it. This release is beautiful and its melancholic aspect is just wonderful if you like to listen to dark music of course. Steven Wilson is someone who knows music and I like the fact that this guy never changed anything in his way to write his songs from the beginning until today without being redundant and always giving the possibility to surprise us. "Inusrgentes" is highly recommended to the ones who like slow Prog Rock and Steven Wilson's music in general.