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Three Porcupine Tree’s for the prize of one. No, you don’t get three
CD’s, but three different faces of this already so versatile band.
Everyone expected a sequel to the previous albums, which would have
meant, a bit more radio friendly (read commercial) and easier to
access. But lucky for us, they don’t give any concessions. And who
expected anything else from Steven Wilson?
The first part of the album is a lot heavier than we are used from
PT. Already started on “In Absentia”, this heavier stuff even goes a
bit further. Influenced by Michael Äkerfeldt from Opeth? No, not at
all, because all he does is play a guitar solo in “Arriving
Somewhere but not Here” and some backing vocals.
The heavier songs aren’t just heavy and simple, but contain really
strong, heavy riffs with some typical softer Porcupine Tree
intermissions and ambient moments. Opener “Deadwing” is a great
example of that. The second part of the song is full of surprises
with great guitar solos and a rhythmic keyboard.
The second track “Shallow”, the first ‘download’ single in the US,
starts off with a great heavy guitar riff, and Steven’s voice
sounding as if he’s singing through a megaphone or a fifties
microphone. An effect he uses a bit too often on this album, but it
sounds great, so I’m not really complaining.
The second PT face on this album can be found in the third track
“Lazarus”, the first European single, only available in Germany.
It’s a great little song with an incredible beautiful, melodic
chorus, you’ll never forget once you’ve heard it, sung on a rhythmic
piano sound which reminds me of Marillion’s “Easter”. This song
could have been on the Blackfield album.
I’m sure “Arriving somewhere but not here” (12 minutes) is going to
be the all time favourite PT song for a lot of fans. This song
contains both the heavier elements of the first half of the album
combined with the more ambient Porcupine Tree sound of the second
half of the CD. A real PT masterpiece.
The rest of the album goes back to the ‘Sky Moves
Sideways’-‘Signify’ period with a lot of fine soundscapes and
ambient songs with a lot of superb vocal lines and the great vocal
harmonies we know from Porcupine Tree.
There’s also a new version of “She’s moved on”, a track from
“Lightbulb Sun” which has been rerecorded.
Steven: “The album was originally meant as a screenplay for a film I
wrote together with a filmmaker from London, who’s a friend of mine.
I think this is one of the reasons it has a slightly more cinematic
quality, and makes it a bit different to a regular Porcupine Tree
album.”
Only time will tell if this is the best PT album so far, but it
certainly comes close. The previous albums are too well settled in
my mind but I’m sure “Deadwing” is one of the better PT CD’s. My
review is focused on Steven Wilson as if he’s playing alone on this
album, but the contribution of the other musicians is also very
important, especially the solid, steady drums of Gavin.
PT fans can already count their money, because there’s going to be a
regular European and American version, a hard book version, a vinyl
release and to top it all off a DVDA 5.1 surround release end of May
with three bonus tracks. But whatever version you buy, you’ll have
another gem in your Porcupine Tree collection. |
