Porcupine Tree

[Axver]

No, I can't say I was interested. Is my skepticism - based on how underwhelming Grace for Drowning proved to be - justified, or should I give it a go?

 

[nielsgov]

I thought I liked Grace for Drowning at first, but then I listened to it a second time...

And just because.

Lightbulb Sun
Stupid Dream
Fear of a Blank Planet
Deadwing
The Incident
In Absentia

That's all I've heard.

 

[djerdap]

I like that ranking. Nice mixture of similar tastes and WTF moments (The Incident > In Absentia??). Up the Downstair and The Sky Moves Sideways are what should follow next.

As for the live SW album, I guess it is worth a go. One should go in with low expectations. I love Insurgentes so it was worth it for me. The two tracks from Grace for Drowning I do really like - Postcard and Remainder the Black Dog - are very good.

 

[nielsgov]

Both albums are too long, but The Incident just has more songs I really like. The Blind House > anything on In Absentia imo.

I remember liking that Postcard track too.

 

[djerdap]

In Absentia is definitely too long, which is why I prefer its two successors of that "metal" era.

 

[LemonMelon]

Other than the awful, bitchy lyrics of the title track, Fear of a Blank Planet was really good.

 

[nielsgov]

The lines about porn are quite funny.

 

[djerdap]

Pearl Jam is my favourite band, and I love that one lyric. Never fails to amuse.

 

[LemonMelon]

I find the lyrics of Sound of Muzak cheesy too so yeah.

Ranking the albums:

1. In Absentia
2. Stupid Dream
3. Deadwing
4. Lightbulb Sun
5. Fear of a Blank Planet
6. The Incident

 

[nielsgov]

Totally different lol.

I also want to add how much I love Sentimental. Such a beautiful track.

 

[LemonMelon]

Yeah, In Absentia is my favorite by a good distance. It's long but it has all of my favorite PT songs except for Lazarus and Even Less.

 

[Axver]

My album rankings for PT are pretty patchy. The first two are solid, but beyond then, well, if I make this list again in an hour it might be different:

1. Stupid Dream
2. Lightbulb Sun
(Recordings)
3. Deadwing
4. Up the Downstair
5. In Absentia
6. The Sky Moves Sideways
7. The Incident
8. Fear of a Blank Planet
9. Signify
10. On the Sunday of Life
(Metanoia)

Seriously, the order of 3-8 is pretty much arbitrary. If you asked me right now to argue that, for instance, FOABP is better than In Absentia, I'd do it despite how I just ranked them.

 

[phanan]

1. Stupid Dream
2. In Absentia
3. Lightbulb Sun
4. Deadwing
5. Up The Downstair
6. Fear Of A Blank Planet
7. The Sky Moves Sideways
8. The Incident
9. On The Sunday Of Life
10. Signify

 

[Axver]

9. On The Sunday Of Life
10. Signify

Yeah?

I mean, I love Jupiter Island, Radioactive Toy, Nine Cats, and especially The Swallows Dance Above the Sun and Linton Samuel Dawson as much as - well, a lot more than - the next guy, but gems like Waiting, Sever, Every Home Is Wired, and Dark Matter give Signify an advantage for me.

Though actually, now that I think about it, the gap in quality between the two albums is much less than I had previously considered it to be. I wish Swallows didn't have those bloody samples, because it's a top twenty PT song for me. The "every time I turn around" verse at the end has some of the best lyrics on any PT album.

 

[djerdap]

Sleep of No Dreaming is my favourite song from Signify.

Album ranking:

1. Stupid Dream
2. Fear of a Blank Planet
3. Deadwing
4. In Absentia
5. Lightbulb Sun
6. Up the Downstair
7. The Sky Moves Sideways
8. The Incident
9. Signify
10.On the Sunday of Life

 

[phanan]

Yeah?

I mean, I love Jupiter Island, Radioactive Toy, Nine Cats, and especially The Swallows Dance Above the Sun and Linton Samuel Dawson as much as - well, a lot more than - the next guy, but gems like Waiting, Sever, Every Home Is Wired, and Dark Matter give Signify an advantage for me.

Though actually, now that I think about it, the gap in quality between the two albums is much less than I had previously considered it to be. I wish Swallows didn't have those bloody samples, because it's a top twenty PT song for me. The "every time I turn around" verse at the end has some of the best lyrics on any PT album.

They are very close. Just like a couple more songs on the (sorta) debut.

That said, I'd love a revisit to all the material at the beginning there and release a superior updated version, editing out the horrendous samples in some songs while adding in other tracks (his cover of Prince's The Cross is still one of the best moments in PT history).

I find the beginning of PT absolutely fascinating.

 

[LemonMelon]

Is Signify really that bad? It has a very healthy score on RYM.

 

[djerdap]

It's a bit patchy and uneven, probably due to the fact it is the first true full-band album, so they were still trying to find their common ground. The middle section is pretty bland, but there are some fantastic songs on it, namely Sleep of No Dreaming and Dark Matter.

 

[Axver]

They are very close. Just like a couple more songs on the (sorta) debut.

That said, I'd love a revisit to all the material at the beginning there and release a superior updated version, editing out the horrendous samples in some songs while adding in other tracks (his cover of Prince's The Cross is still one of the best moments in PT history).

I find the beginning of PT absolutely fascinating.

Agreed. I wish I had the editing prowess to remove the shitty samples (like how somebody here took the interview out of U2's Wild Irish Rose). I know I'll get crucified for this, but that cover of The Cross tops the original. SW just sings it so well, and I love the way it transitions into Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape, another early PT gem.

Is Signify really that bad? It has a very healthy score on RYM.

I don't think it's bad, but something's got to come down the bottom of the ranking and it's much patchier than most other PT albums. It's got six great tracks - the four I already named, plus Sleep of No Dreaming and the Title track - and then some drawn out tracks that are little better than interludes. Pagan is completely unnecessary, Waiting Phase Two has nothing on Waiting Phase One (which is a top five PT song for me), etc. You could make one of the best EPs in history out of Signify.

 

[Axver]

Speaking of top five PT songs, that sounds like a lark. As of today:

=1. Piano Lessons
=1. Fadeaway
3. Waiting Phase One
4. The Rest Will Flow
5. Pure Narcotic

... for a guy who likes his heavier stuff, I've always loved PT's softer side most. I think the rest of my top ten would be populated by And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun, Even Less, She's Moved On, Lazarus, and Black Dahlia. Maybe. It's hard to leave out ... a lot of songs; I won't list them. PT has been fucking consistent for a band around so long.

 

[Joey788]

So I just got into Porcupine Tree a few months ago. Holy hell, how did this band stay off my radar for so long? I listened to In Absentia back in July and I've quickly absorbed all the subsequent albums in the last few months. So far, I'd have to say Deadwing is my favorite album out of those four. Every song on that record is brilliant.

As for my top five, it's really only out of those four albums and subject to immense change, but for the moment, they are:

1. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
2. Sentimental
3. Halo
4. Time Flies
5. Blackest Eyes

So for a huge fan of Deadwing as well as the other post In-Absentia LPs, where should I go from here?

Also, which of Wilson's other projects/albums are highly recommended? He's got about 12 different bands so it's a little tough to wade through all of them!

 

[djerdap]

Just go and do their more mellow and song-based albums - Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun, along with a great b-side compilation simply called Recordings.

As far as other projects go, I'd recommend the first two Blackfield albums, No-Man's Schoolyard Ghosts and Insurgentes, Wilson's first solo record.

 

[Axver]

Just go and do their more mellow and song-based albums - Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun, along with a great b-side compilation simply called Recordings.

As far as other projects go, I'd recommend the first two Blackfield albums, No-Man's Schoolyard Ghosts and Insurgentes, Wilson's first solo record.

Beat me to it. I was going to say exactly this.

Though as much as the Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun/Recordings era is more mellow and song-based than the generally heavier albums that have followed, the second half of Lightbulb Sun definitely points towards In Absentia. That half of the album is really dark, and as far as Hatesong and Russia on Ice go, pretty heavy too.

 

[phanan]

Hmm...top 5 songs? It varies. But these 5 are usually up there:

Even Less
Fadeaway
Dark Matter
Collapse The Light Into Earth
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

 

[djerdap]

Normal
Buying New Soul
Piano Lessons
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Fadeaway

 

[Axver]

When Normal came out, I preferred it to Sentimental, but now I've had that opinion completely reverse. Sentimental at the moment is probably my second favourite on FOABP, behind Anesthetize.

 

[djerdap]

Sentimental would be probably be at no.6.

 

[Axver]

News on the next solo album: New album update | SWHQ.co.uk

Here's the choice bit, and I may have slightly modified part of the quote.

There is still some work to do before work is complete, but the provisional track listing (subject to change) for the as yet untitled distraction from Porcupine Tree is as follows:

1. The Holy Drinker (10.00)
2. Drive Home (8.00)
3. Luminol (12.00)
4. The Watchmaker (12.00)
5. The Pin Drop (5.00)
6. The Raven That Refused to Sing (8.00)

The album will be released towards the end of February on KScope in a pointless array of formats (including a very special masturbatory edition).

Thank god it's going to be a single album rather than a double, but it looks like it may well be more drawn out dithering rather than SW playing to his strengths and writing concise, memorable songs. And nothing can avoid the fact this is a timewaster delaying a new Porcupine Tree album and tour. He'll be touring this thing around Germany Europe in March 2013; dates on the website.

 

[djerdap]

Well, at least it's going relatively quick. So it can be over and done with relatively soon (it would be ironic if I end up liking the album). I did hear that Luminol song and I dislike it. 12 minutes of wank.

This separation of UK and Europe that a lot of people seem to be doing nowadays when announcing tour dates is blowing my mind. Why not separate Scandinavia as well while we're at it?

 

[Axver]

He has indicated there'll be more European dates, then probably a North American tour, and I suppose he'll try to go somewhere else too (probably not Australia, and I only want him to come down here if he comes good on that suggestion to play early PT stuff). I'm not optimistic he'll even be free to start work on a PT album until the second half of 2013.

What's with so many dates in German-speaking parts of Europe? I've noticed this in PT's touring too. Do people who speak German just love SW's sort of music that much more than, say, any Romance language speakers?