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| Porcupine Tree Deadwing Lava/Atlantic On The Sunday Of Life Signify The Sky Moves Sideways Up The Downstair Voyage 34 Snapper Like it or not, the dreaded progressive-rock beast has begun stirring again of late. '80s proggers Marillion have such a devoted following (albeit limited) that when they want to tour or record, all they have to do is send an e-mail to their fan club and money comes pouring in from the faithful. Kinda like the old artist/patron set-up, no? But hey, it works for them. How many Maroon 5 fans would pony up the recording costs for their next disc? That's right —zero. Nowadays, the prog label gets applied to acts like Radiohead, Sigur Ros, The Mars Volta, and System of a Down, partially because of the presence of influences such as King Crimson, Gabriel-era Genesis, and Zappa, but mainly due to the fact that those bands' very natures is to experiment and therefore, progress. But if Mars Volta, et al. are flying a new kind of progressive flag, our friends in Porcupine Tree are having a blast flying the old one and doing a damn good job of it. Though leader Steven Wilson loathes the prog label, his band has managed to take something from the past and make it their own, for a new generation of listeners to discover. Call it art rock that rocks. In a way, Wilson is right. In the few lightweight sections of their latest release, Deadwing, the 'Tree sound basically like a heavier-than-average commercial rock band. But it's the other, Floyd-like moments of grandeur where they really makes their bones, and Wilson has front-loaded the record with several of his best songs yet. In fact, the first five tracks are sequentially one of the strongest batches of songs this writer has heard on a rock album all year. The opening title track pulses on and off for nearly 10 minutes, with guest Adrian Belews' guitar solos sprinkled liberally throughout. The single, "Shallow," pumps like a perfectly timed four-stroke, while "Halo" – featuring Belews' other Deadwing appearance – just flat out rocks, not a word one usually associates with the progressive genre. If Deadwing is a concept album, it's really not that clear what the concept is supposed to be, but ultimately, it's the music which matters the most and the alternating soft/heavy moods of the record convey just the right tone for late-night stoner spins. Overall, a fine introduction to an intelligent and exciting band. Indie label Snapper has been reissuing the Porc's back catalogue over the past year or so, and personally, there ain't a bad one in the bunch. Newcomers are advised to start with the live Coma Divine, a terrific two-disc document culled from a '97 run of shows in Rome, while their studio side is best represented by Signify and The Sky Moves Sideways. But for sheer psychedelic ridiculousness, you can't beat Voyage 34, a four-part, hour-plus aural trip that should definitely not be enjoyed under the influence of drugs whose initials start with "L" and end with "D." Porcupine Tree are touring the U.S. this fall complete with tricked-out DTS surround sound and "video wall." Grab your stash and leave the crib for a night – you'll be glad you did.
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—Mike Villano October 2005 |
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