Progressive Rock Reviews
Progressive Rock Reviews
PORCUPINE TREE |
Porcupine Tree are : Richard Barbieri : Analoque Synthesizers, Hammond organ, Mellotron Colin Edwin : Bass Guitar Chris Maitland : Drums, Percussion Steven Wilson : Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Samples The tracks are : 1. Even Less (7:11) 2. Piano Lessons (4:21) 3. Stupid Dream (0:28) 4. Pure Narcotic (5:02) 5. Slave Called Shiver (4:41) 6. Don't Hate Me (8:30) 7. This Is No Rehearsal (3:27) 8. Baby Dream In Cellophane (3:15) 9. Stranger By The Minute (4:31) 10. A Smart KId (5:22) 11. Tinto Brass (5:17) 12. Stop Swimming (6:53) Ah, that difficult sixth album, their first for a major label, (label mates include The Pretty Things). Where do we begin? Well, lets state at the start that this is without doubt Steven Wilson's finest work across all his myriad projects and is as far from previous PT albums as OK Computer was from Pablo Honey. It does need a few listens though, the more you listen, the more you are drawn in. The Floydian influence is still there, guitars abound and, perhaps, the poppier 'no-man' side of his personality has sneaked through, many of the songs are replete with sing-a-long choruses. But when you look at what you are singing, the lyrical content is very bleak. There are dead bodies, washed up and buried, disappearing children, end of relationships, end of the world, and finally, with the last track, ending it all. There's a lot of piano here too, and Hammond, very tasty. There are also strings draped across various tracks to great effect. And something I can't quite put my finger on. Steven seems to be singing higher and there's a lot of vocal effects, almost as if he's lost that confidence in his voice he seemed to have found on the Coma Divine live affair. Or it's just a way of giving different characteristics for the different characters in his songs, heaven help us if it was all one person. Highlights, Even Less, though the live version on the last tour nails this one flat, Baby Dream in Cellophane made me think of the sixties, CSN, Beatles and Led Zeppelin all in one song. This is no Rehersal has touches of Bevis Frond guitar, (don't worry folks it's a fuzz-wah pedal!). The ultimate highlight is A Smart Kid, revisiting the territory of Radioactive Toy, but less naive, more desperate. Stranger by the Minute would make a much better single than Piano Lessons, which reminds me of Edie Brickell's What I Am. It all ends with Stop Swimming, the bleakest song of all, musically it's Talk Talk around Spirit of Eden, lyrically it's a desperate Thom Yorke. So desperate he leaves by the window. The album ends with a dull thud. Pity, it's an unsatisfactory end. Given the cast of superb musicians that inhabit the Porcupine Tree playing is immaculate, Richard Barbieri makes some nice noises, unless they're Steven's samples, Chris Maitland is a great rock drummer, Colin Edwin a fluid bass player. Theo Travis adds distinction with flute on a couple of tracks and sax on one too. There only remain a couple of problems. Where on earth in the UK is anyone going to hear it, countrywide there's no medium to carry it. And why does it leave me feel so empty when it ends? I've been a Porcupine Tree fan from their inception and had been worried about what was being said about the album, there are no really long tracks here, though live a couple of them will open up through improvisation, but there's a lot here that does recall earlier work, A Smart Kid wouldn't have been out of place on The Sky Moves Sideways, this is truly a stunning piece of work. If you recognise any of the other bands mentioned here you'll like this, no, you'll love this. Stupid Dream (kscope smacd-8130) is released by Snapper Records. Website : http://www.snappermusic.com/index2.htm Porcupine Tree Website : http://www.nomansland.demon.co.uk/index.html For more information contact Porcupine Tree at : Porcupine Tree, P.O. Box 628, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1PT, ENGLAND. Review by Gordon Elcock. |
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In Absentia (European Special Edition) PORCUPINE TREE |
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Disc A Disc B This is Porcupine Tree's first release, since signing with Lava Records, a division of Atlantic Records, so you could say they are now with the Major players. So are there any changes, well for me, Porcupine Tree changed, when they released Stupid Dream, gone are the long tracks, we now have, what i would call, lots more vocal orientated songs, and less of the long instrumentals, that many PT fans still hope for. You could say, in fact, that the more vocal orientated songs are aimed at a more commercial market, but on the other hand, these songs are still very well written and is still in the PT mood. I personally do miss the long instrumentals, but bands have to move on, and PT have chosen to go this route. Anyway, lets get onto the new album, once again, it is in keeping with the last two albums, but here we have quite a bit of variation, and there are a few tracks that have gone more on the heavier side. The opening track "Blackest Eyes", combines heavy guitar riffs, almost acoustic verses and a catchy melodic chorus, are Porcupine Tree getting heavier, maybe it's the Opeth influence rubbing off, but then again, there's always been that heavier side to Porcupine Tree's music. "Trains" , a quieter track, lots of acoustic guitar, and theres also a nice interlude, with a kind of Spanish feel to it, Ukelele, hand clapping, etc, and as this finishes with some more heavier guitar sounds coming in. "Lips Of Ashes", starts with a very dreamy and atmospheric feel to it, well, to be honest, the whole track remains dreamy and atmospheric, but there's a nice use of vocal harmonies, with some nice guitar work throughout. "The Sound Of Muzak", I can only describe this track, as typical Porcupine Tree, it's just got the PT sound stamped all over it, the acoustic guitar rhythm is superb, and another track with catchy verses and chorus, and another track with some stunning guitar work. "Gravity Eyelids", starts with Barbieri's atmospheric keyboards, to which a hypnotic drum rhythm is added, at this point, the music is almost dreamy, and Steve's vocals, reflect this too, but this track gradually builds, with some heavy guitar riffs coming in, and these remain for most of the track, there's also some nice keyboards runnning over the top, and the track finishes with the hypnotic drum rhythm. "Wedding Nails", is one of the heaviest tracks on this album, uptempo, compared with some other tracks on the album, some great guitar, and besides the heavy riffs has some nice atmospheric keyboards and guitar too. Towards the end of the track, theres a complete change in direction, the sounds become atmospeheric and then these gradually fade away. "Prodigal", starts with some nice slide guitar, which in places is not dissimilar to the sound of Pink Floyd, towards the middle, theres some heavier guitar, nice vocal harmonis and theres a nice guitar solo too. "3", starts with just a bass line, to which atmospheric synths and guitar are soon added, to which a string section is then added. Towards the end there are some vocals, two lines, that are repeated several times, then the track starts to builds up, then kind of dies, lleaving the strings to gradually fade away. For me this track needs something extra, i think i read somewhere that this originally was part of the track "Strip The Soul", but the band decided to split the track, i think they might hace been better to leave it there. "The Creator Has A Mastertape", take Pink Floyds "On The Run", add some distorted vocals and heavy guitar and what you have is this track, well, thats what it sounds like to me. This is Porcupine Tree at their heaviest, heaviest ever. Personally, I like it, but i am pretty well sure some PT fans will hate it. But then I am a metal fan too, so i don't mind the heavier side of PT. "Heartattack In A Layby", is a beautiful ballad. Combining acoustic guitar, piano, and vocal harmonies, this is a very moving emotional track. "Strip The Soul", this starts as what i would call a recognisable PT song, before the chorus hits in, heavy guitars, Steve's vocals sound like they are put through a megaphone, and sounds a little like NIN. Theres some lovely wah wah guitar a little later, with whispered vocals and some great guitar too. After some vocal sampling, a Metallica type riff comes in towards the end of the track. One of the best tracks on the album! "Collapse The Light Into Earth", the last track and another ballad, This track mainly comprises of the piano, keyboards and Steve vocals. Steve's vocals have an echo effect on them for some of the verses, and having listened to this a few times now, the piano reminds me of a track on Coldplay's new album. Theres are also some strings added later. When these fade, you are just left with the paino and Steve vocals, which then fades away. Porcupine Tree has been one of my favourite bands since I first heard Coma Divine, yes, I was late in getting into this band, but i have made up for it since. I was really looking forward to this album and i must say, PT have delivered another high quality album. In Absentia has a lot more diversity in the range of songs on this album, than on their previous two albums 'Stupid Dream' and 'Lightbulb Sun' and therefore is a bit more demanding on the listener. Whereas on the previuos two albums, the mood virtually remained the same throughout, on this album, because of the diversity, we have quite a few mood changes, and even though i don't mind this, there will be some who will not be too happy with this new format. For me a great album and highly recommended! There is also, a video version of 'Strip The Soul' on this cd. With this Ltd european version, there is also a bonus disc... "Drown With Me", combining acoustic and electric guitar, this is quite an uptempo track with some nice vocal harmonies. "Chloroform", hypnotic drum rhythm, atmospheric keyboards, and echoey vocals from Steve, as the song progresses, the vocals get stronger, as does the keyboards and guitar. Later heavier guitar sounds, and a powerful guitar solo from Steve emerges, this fades leaving just the drums, bass and atmospheric keys to play out the track. "Strip The Soul" (video edit), shortened version as used in the video. If you want to check for yourself before purchasing the album , make sure you listen to the 4 full-length songs (Blackest Eyes, Lips of Ashes, The Sound of Muzak and Wedding Nails) on the band's fully redesigned website. Together with the multimedia downloads of Gravity Eyelids and Strip The Soul this gives you the chance of checking out half of the album before buying it. Released by Lava Records 7567 93163-2 Lava Records Website: http://www.lavarecords.com/ Porcupine Tree
Website: http://www.porcupinetree.com/ |
