Hand. Cannot. Erase.

Hand. Cannot. Erase. is the fourth solo studio album by English musician Steven Wilson. The album was released on 27 February 2015 through Kscope.[3]

Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Studio album by Steven Wilson
Released	27 February 2015
Recorded	September 2014 at AIR Studios, London, UK
Genre	Progressive rock[1] progressive pop[2]
Length	65:44
Label	Kscope
Producer	Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson chronology
Drive Home (2013) Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015) Transience (2015)

Writing and recording

The album was recorded in September 2014 at AIR Studios, London, UK.[4] All band members of the previous album are also featured on the new recording.[4] 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.[5] 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.[5] Alongside Wilson, the album features Ninet Tayeb on vocals, and the music is heavily inspired by The Dreaming, an album by Kate Bush.[6]

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, 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.[7] 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.' [Vincent] wasn't [like 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."[7]

Release and promotion

The album was released in February 2015.[8] A deluxe version of the album was also made available as well.[8] 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 [his] past for a few surprises."[9]

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.[10] On 4 February 2015 a video for "Perfect Life" was released via Wilson's official YouTube channel.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	89/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
All About Jazz	[14]
Classic Rock	8/10[15]
Eclipsed	[15]
FDRMX	4.8/5[1]
The Guardian	[16]
Metal Hammer	[15]
PopMatters	8.5/10[17]
Record Collector	[18]

Hand. Cannot. Erase. has received acclaim from critics. Metacritic, a review aggregator, has given the album a normalized rating of 89 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim, based on reviews from 8 critics.[12] The Guardian rated the album five stars and called it "a smart, soulful and immersive work of art".[16] 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".[15] 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".[1]

All About Jazz awarded Hand. Cannot. Erase. 5 stars and said "As someone capable of delivering accessible music that is, at the same time, compositionally and lyrically deep—detailed and, at times, unapologetically complex—Wilson makes absolutely no compromises in doing what he does".[14] Another 5 star review appeared in the March 2015 edition of Record Collector, who praised the album's "Spellbinding poignancy and aching beauty".[18]

German magazine Visions declared Hand. Cannot. Erase. to be "The Wall for the Facebook generation".[19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steven Wilson.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"First Regret" (instrumental)	2:01
2.	"3 Years Older"	10:18
3.	"Hand Cannot Erase"	4:17
4.	"Perfect Life"	4:46
5.	"Routine"	8:58
6.	"Home Invasion"	6:24
7.	"Regret #9" (instrumental)	5:00
8.	"Transience"	2:43
9.	"Ancestral"	13:30
10.	"Happy Returns"	6:00
11.	"Ascendant Here On..." (instrumental)	1:54
Total length:		65:44

Deluxe edition disc 2 (CD)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"First Regret" (demo)	2.28
2.	"3 Years Older" (demo)	11:47
3.	"Hand Cannot Erase" (demo)	4:52
4.	"Routine" (demo)	10:06
5.	"Key of Skeleton" (demo)	4:06
6.	"Ancestral" (demo)	13:42
7.	"Happy Returns" (demo)	5.42
8.	"Last Regret" (demo)	3:08

Bonus material (Blu-ray)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"First Regret" (alternate mix)	2:04
2.	"Hand Cannot Erase" (radio edit)	3:29
3.	"Perfect Life" (grand union mix)	7:45
4.	"Routine" (Ninet solo vocal version)	8:58
5.	"Regret #9" (alternate take)	4:17
6.	"Happy Returns" (radio edit)	3:54

[20]

Personnel

Adapted from Hand. Cannot. Erase. liner notes.

Band

• Steven Wilson – lead vocals, mellotron (tracks 1–10), keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8), guitars (tracks 2–10), bass (tracks 1, 2 and 5–7), banjo (track 7), hammered dulcimer (track 9), programming (tracks 1–5, 9 and 10), shaker (tracks 3, 5 and 6), effects (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9–11)
• Guthrie Govan – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 9 and 10), lead guitar (tracks 5 and 7)
• Nick Beggs – bass (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 (tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9 and 10), celesta (tracks 3, 5 and 9), Fender Rhodes (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 and baritone saxophone (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 (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 — artwork, photography, film director
• Hajo Mueller — illustrations
• Carl Glover – design, layout

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21]	12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22]	26
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23]	34
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24]	24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25]	2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[26]	4
French Albums (SNEP)[27]	47
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28]	3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[29]	29
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[30]	277
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31]	11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32]	58
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[33]	33
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34]	17
UK Albums (OCC)[35]	13
UK Rock Albums (OCC)[36]	1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[37]	2
US Billboard 200[38]	39

References

1. "Steven Wilson: 'Hand. Cannot. Erase.' Album Review". FDRMX. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
2. O'Brien, Jon. "Steven Wilson | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
3. "Steven Wilson Announces New Album And March 2015 UK Tour". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 19 November 2014
4. "Steven Wilson at AIR Studios – September 2014". Steven Wilson official Facebook page. Retrieved 10 September 2014
5. "Steven Wilson at AIR Studios, London – September 2014". Steven Wilson official YouTube channel. Retrieved 3 October 2014
6. "Steven Wilson at AIR Studios – Part 2: Concept and Inspiration". Steven Wilson official YouTube channel. Retrieved 4 November 2014
7. "Steven Wilson Explains New Album's Concept and Inspiration". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 19 November 2014
8. "Steven Wilson to Release "Hand. Cannot. Erase." in February via Kscope". Progsphere. Retrieved 19 November 2014
9. "Steven Wilson confirms 4th studio album and tour". TeamRock. Retrieved 19 November 2014
10. "Steven Wilson’s haunting teaser campaign". Prog. Retrieved 1 January 2015
11. "Steven Wilson – Perfect Life". YouTube Retrieved 4 February 2015
12. "Hand.Cannot.Erase. – Steven Wilson". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
13. Jurek, Thom. "Hand. Cannot. Erase. – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
14. "Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase.". All About Jazz Retrieved 27 February 2015
15. "Steven Wilson – Official Facebook Page". Facebook Retrieved 22 February 2015
16. "Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase. review – sonic and spiritual modernity ". The Guardian Retrieved 26 February 2015
17. "Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase". PopMatters. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
18. "Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase. ". Record Collector Retrieved 27 February 2015
19. "Steven Wilson – Official Facebook Page". Facebook Retrieved 27 February 2015
20. "Steven Wilson Reveals Tracklisting, Artwork for 'Hand.Cannot.Erase.'". Empty Lighthouse Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2014
21. "Austriancharts.at – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase." (in German). Hung Medien.
22. "Ultratop.be – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase." (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
23. "Ultratop.be – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase." (in French). Hung Medien.
24. "Steven Wilson Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase." (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
26. "Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase." (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
27. "Lescharts.com – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.". Hung Medien.
28. "Offiziellecharts.de – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase." (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
29. "Italiancharts.com – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.". Hung Medien.
30. "ハンド・キャンノット・イレース" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
31. "Norwegiancharts.com – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.". Hung Medien.
32. "Spanishcharts.com – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.". Hung Medien.
33. "Swedishcharts.com – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.". Hung Medien.
34. "Swisscharts.com – Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.". Hung Medien.
35. "UK Albums Chart".
36. "UK Top 40 Rock Albums". BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
37. "UK Top 40 Rock Albums". BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
38. "Billboard 200".