Music Banter - View Single Post - Porcupine Tree

Megadead2 · 07-01-2009, 10:23 PM

I suspect this review will be a bit controversial; I hope it will provoke some discussion. It's an interesting record, to be sure.

Artist: Porcupine Tree
Album: In Absentia
Year: 2002
Genre: Rock
Styles: Progressive rock, alternative rock
Rating: 5.5/10

English art-rockers Porcupine Tree have been going for over 20 years now, ever since Steven Wilson imagined them as a joke (a fake long-lost psychedelic band of the '60s) in the late 1980s. Beginning as a solo project, Porcupine Tree became a full-fledged band during the 1990s, even as it developed a unique sound drawing on modern rock, psychedelia, pop, and the more atmospheric side of prog--Genesis, Tangerine Dream, and especially Pink Floyd. The band endured in obscurity for many years before finding a wide audience among proggers and metalheads in the early 2000s, thanks to tours with Yes and Dream Theater and production work by Steven Wilson on the Opeth classic Blackwater Park. In Absentia was their breakthrough album, and while its sales have since been surpassed by its two follow-ups, it remains the Porcupine Tree album with the greatest reputation among fans. However, unlike most, I do not feel that it is Steven Wilson's best work. I have written this review to articulate why.

Admittedly, this album has its merits. I know it's a cliche, but I really do think "Trains" is probably the best pop song Steven Wilson has ever written, or at least the best pop song he's written with Porcupine Tree. The arrangements are ornate, with a passage of involved vocal counterpoint and some vintage keyboards deep in the mix, and the closing riff has a prog grandiosity, but otherwise it is basically just folky rock, simple and honest and emotional. It is one of the few Porcupine Tree songs that does not have a real weak moment, but is consistently rich and enjoyable throughout.

The album as a whole isn't nearly as consistent, however. This is considered the album where Porcupine Tree started to "go metal", and while the guitar riffs are really in a modern hard rock/post-grunge style rather than a metal one, it is true that there is far more heavy material on this album than its pop-oriented predecessor Lightbulb Sun. Songs like "Strip the Soul" and "The Creator Has a Mastertape" are nothing more than bland alt-rock, more layered than your typical modern-rock radio track maybe but no better--far worse, in fact, because they lack the hooks.

The more experimental pieces here--"Lips of Ashes", "Gravity Eyelids", and ".3" are weak. The first two come across as mood pieces, the third is pleasant and all but nothing to get excited about. They're much too safe, too polished and pretty, not adventurous enough to be the avant-garde they want to be. The instrumental outing "Wedding Nails" attempts to be discordant and ugly, but fails, mainly due to the super-clean production and uptight performances. The album is at its best when it is in pop mode. "Trains" is great, as stated earlier; the opener "Blackest Eyes" is solid and catchy, with a beautiful mix of acoustic and electric guitars, although unfortunately it is marred by one very terrible line ("It's so erotic when your makeup runs"--no Porcupine Tree album is complete without Wilson singing something cringeworthy); "The Sound of Muzak" has annoying lyrics about the record industry (most social commentary in rock is crap in general, and Wilson, a dubious lyricist as he is, does not belong to the small cache of songwriters who can do it well), but is otherwise almost as compelling as "Trains", with truly incredible harmonies in the chorus. "Collapse the Light Into Earth" is in my opinion too sentimental (if Keane had done it instead it wouldn't be taken seriously) and has been since by surpassed by "Lazarus" on Deadwing, but is nice enough.

Overall I feel that this is a deeply flawed release, and I think it's unfortunate that many do not venture further back into this band's back catalogue. I much more heartily recommend its underrated (and recently reissued) predecessor Lightbulb Sun, a far more convincing pop/rock affair.

07-01-2009, 10:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
Megadead2 Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 68	Porcupine Tree - In Absentia I suspect this review will be a bit controversial; I hope it will provoke some discussion. It's an interesting record, to be sure. Artist: Porcupine Tree Album: In Absentia Year: 2002 Genre: Rock Styles: Progressive rock, alternative rock Rating: 5.5/10 English art-rockers Porcupine Tree have been going for over 20 years now, ever since Steven Wilson imagined them as a joke (a fake long-lost psychedelic band of the '60s) in the late 1980s. Beginning as a solo project, Porcupine Tree became a full-fledged band during the 1990s, even as it developed a unique sound drawing on modern rock, psychedelia, pop, and the more atmospheric side of prog--Genesis, Tangerine Dream, and especially Pink Floyd. The band endured in obscurity for many years before finding a wide audience among proggers and metalheads in the early 2000s, thanks to tours with Yes and Dream Theater and production work by Steven Wilson on the Opeth classic Blackwater Park. In Absentia was their breakthrough album, and while its sales have since been surpassed by its two follow-ups, it remains the Porcupine Tree album with the greatest reputation among fans. However, unlike most, I do not feel that it is Steven Wilson's best work. I have written this review to articulate why. Admittedly, this album has its merits. I know it's a cliche, but I really do think "Trains" is probably the best pop song Steven Wilson has ever written, or at least the best pop song he's written with Porcupine Tree. The arrangements are ornate, with a passage of involved vocal counterpoint and some vintage keyboards deep in the mix, and the closing riff has a prog grandiosity, but otherwise it is basically just folky rock, simple and honest and emotional. It is one of the few Porcupine Tree songs that does not have a real weak moment, but is consistently rich and enjoyable throughout. The album as a whole isn't nearly as consistent, however. This is considered the album where Porcupine Tree started to "go metal", and while the guitar riffs are really in a modern hard rock/post-grunge style rather than a metal one, it is true that there is far more heavy material on this album than its pop-oriented predecessor Lightbulb Sun. Songs like "Strip the Soul" and "The Creator Has a Mastertape" are nothing more than bland alt-rock, more layered than your typical modern-rock radio track maybe but no better--far worse, in fact, because they lack the hooks. The more experimental pieces here--"Lips of Ashes", "Gravity Eyelids", and ".3" are weak. The first two come across as mood pieces, the third is pleasant and all but nothing to get excited about. They're much too safe, too polished and pretty, not adventurous enough to be the avant-garde they want to be. The instrumental outing "Wedding Nails" attempts to be discordant and ugly, but fails, mainly due to the super-clean production and uptight performances. The album is at its best when it is in pop mode. "Trains" is great, as stated earlier; the opener "Blackest Eyes" is solid and catchy, with a beautiful mix of acoustic and electric guitars, although unfortunately it is marred by one very terrible line ("It's so erotic when your makeup runs"--no Porcupine Tree album is complete without Wilson singing something cringeworthy); "The Sound of Muzak" has annoying lyrics about the record industry (most social commentary in rock is crap in general, and Wilson, a dubious lyricist as he is, does not belong to the small cache of songwriters who can do it well), but is otherwise almost as compelling as "Trains", with truly incredible harmonies in the chorus. "Collapse the Light Into Earth" is in my opinion too sentimental (if Keane had done it instead it wouldn't be taken seriously) and has been since by surpassed by "Lazarus" on Deadwing, but is nice enough. Overall I feel that this is a deeply flawed release, and I think it's unfortunate that many do not venture further back into this band's back catalogue. I much more heartily recommend its underrated (and recently reissued) predecessor Lightbulb Sun, a far more convincing pop/rock affair. Last edited by Megadead2; 07-02-2009 at 12:45 PM.