January 22nd will see the release of a new Steven Wilson album, 4 ½, so titled because it forms an interim release between Steven's recently released fourth album Hand. Cannot. Erase. and the next studio album.

4 ½ comprises six tracks with a total running time of 37 minutes. Four of the songs originated during the sessions for Hand. Cannot. Erase., and one from the recording sessions for the previous album The Raven that Refused To Sing. The final track is a version of “Don't Hate Me”, a song originally recorded by Porcupine Tree in 1998, and is based on a live recording made on the recent tour of Europe with additional recording later done in the studio. The vocals on this new version are sung as a duet between Steven and Ninet Tayeb.

Also appearing on the album are members of Steven's band over the last few years; Adam Holzman, Nick Beggs, Guthrie Govan, Dave Kilminster, Craig Blundell, Marco Minnemann, Chad Wackerman, and Theo Travis.

4 ½ will be released by Kscope on CD, 180 gram vinyl, and blu-ray, with all formats housed in a beautiful die-cut sleeve photographed by Lasse Hoile and designed by Carl Glover. The blu-ray (audio only) edition includes high res stereo, a 5.1 mix of the album, and a bonus 5.1 mix of the new version of Lazarus (recently included on the Transience vinyl compilation). The vinyl edition will include a download code for the album in a choice of FLAC or mp3. Pre-order here. The album will also be available digitally on January 22nd from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Apple Music.

4 ½ tracklisting:

“My Book Of Regrets”
“Year Of The Plague”
“Happiness 3”
“Sunday Rain Sets In”
“Vermillioncore”
“Don’t Hate Me”

With sold out shows around the world including his 2 recent performances at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, Steven Wilson will continue to tour throughout 2016. Starting in Germany on January 12th, the 2016 European tour takes Steven to Belgium, Holland, UK, France, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Hungary, Italy and Greece. For full tour details head here.