Porcupine Tree Classic Or Dud? Search & Destroy.

In terms of what they are like a neutral enough description would be prog-revival -- negative spin says that they do nothing to add to their evident seventies fixations, positive that they extend it. Personally I like them a hell of a lot more than Dream Theater, whose cock rock fascinations just bug the hell out of me -- Wilson (perhaps self-consciously at points) is aiming at being more a cerebral singer and performer and his air of restrained cool at many points appeals to me greatly.

The official site is here, and if you go to the All Music Guide you'll find reviews for just about all of their albums -- most of which are from me. ;-) If I had to pick a couple of albums in particular as starting points, Up the Downstair, Signify and Stupid Dream are all wonderful records.

Agreed with the comments on Dream Theater. It's just horrid wank.

Steve Wilson Interview
9pm US Eastern Time, today 20th June !

Progressive Soundscapes Radio
http://www.progressivesoundscapes.com/

Steve Wilson Interview June 20th Coming Friday, June 20th at 9 PM an exclusive interview with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. Steven spoke to us just recently about the inspiration and the meaning behind the lyrics and music of "In Absentia", the upcoming USA tour, his side projects I.E.M. & Bass Communion, and the next PT project. The interview will be rebroadcast next week, date and time TBD.

incidentally, I just revisted this band after having been soundly unimpressed by their stuff (and No-Man) in the past and still haven't made up my mind; but I picked up Up the Downstair and On the Sunday of Life very cheap and they aren't horrible (I haven't decided they're very good either; there's def. something cheesy about it all). I now find that they're remxing and rereleasing these without drum machines and with real drums which I don't know will be the kind of improvement I'd want (I'd strip the guitar solos, personally.)

I think what really bugs me about them is the self-aggrandizing tone of their press releases and bio which make Wilson sound like the biggest unheralded genius of the past 25 years.

Anyway, it was just the phrasing of all their official stuff that kind of put me off, I haven't made up my mind on the music yet. I think I like it, in general.

Woohoo!

I'll say this much for being on the No-Man mailing list -- he's a pretty relaxed guy from what I can tell.

I still haven't listened to the re-recorded up the downstair but will later....

paste some good nuggets!
"Xbox is a God to me, My finger on the switch, my mother is a bitch, my father gave up ever trying to talk to me"

although now I've decided i like that line, and the album, mostly.

I'm listening to this for the first time, and it's surprisingly brilliant.

After having checked them out more closely, I find myself enjoying their lesser known electronica influenced mid 90s stuff better than the more famous and considerably more rock oriented 00s stuff.

There's always something interesting anyway though, and a huge variety of style throughout every album.

lots of tuneful catchy stuff on in absentia

somehow a bit frumpy though

I got a No-Man album last week! Flowermouth. It's awesome. A prog- rock Bark Psychosis, maybe?

Ha, I thought you were about to say you got the new one, which just came out (got my copy last week).

the new no-man album is wonderful, easily my favorite by them; I find a lot of the earlier stuff to sound very dated.

the new steven wilson solo album is also excellent, much better than the last Porcupine Tree album.

They are so goddamn hit or miss. I saw them with Opeth once. That was cool.

I saw them live and they were good but it is a kind of joyless, academic rocking out. king crimson appear to have more fun on stage.

akm you are otm. what a pleasant surprise. first song's pretty sweet and then "abandoner" comes on like portishead. good move burying the vocals too

bonus disc is pretty good too. the alternate version of "insurgentes" sounds a lot like talk talk. this might be the best set of songs he's come up with so far

new PT album is great, maybe their best full length, not sure. less cringey lyrics than "fear", though it does have the phrase "disembodied luminous hand" in a song which is both ridiculous and sublime. I reckon this, along with Wilson's solo record, and the Schoolyard Ghosts is one hell of a run.

Still need to get the solo. But yeah Schoolyard knocked it out of the park so good to hear this is maintaining standards...

Agree it's great, and apparently they have toned down those heavy Marshall riffs that were a bit too prominent on the previous three albums. Which is good. Still consider the last two of their 90s albums their best.

ned the solo album is great. the most down-to-earth thing i've heard by him

I agree, plus it sounds an awful lot like Radiohead to me – in a good way. In fact it sounds like the album Radiohead could and should have gone to to make after OK Computer. I suspect that if Insurgentes had Radiohead written on it it would be being hailed as a masterpiece by now.

Ha well considering that a late nineties lyric from Wilson included the line "You make me listen to The Bends" that's not so surprising!

DISEMODIED LUMINOUS HAND makes me listen to the Bends

cover is nice too, like the "picture" of "carles" the village voice ran last winter, sitting behind two computers with a gas mask on

There is also this other cover, although I'm unclear on which versions have which covers:

http://arcona.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/steven-wilson-insurgentes.jpg

yeah this new album is pretty good, probably better than FOABP although that album DID have some storming highlights (well, the opening and closing tracks, maybe My Ashes)

wanna hear 'insurgentes'

In fact it sounds like the album Radiohead could and should have gone to to make after OK Computer.

I feel that Mew are doing the same thing. Elbow and Muse also started the same way, but have sort of developed there own thing (Elbow more rhytm oriented whereas Muse have taken the pomp and circumstance to new levels, adding a bit of Queen)

really think i need to re-evaluate this band from 'occasionally very good if largely one-dimensional and repetitive psych-metal act' to 'genuinely important indie/metal crossover act with a largely fine body of work'

I've only listened to this new one once so far, but it seems like the best I've heard from them yet.

yeah I can't believe you wouldn't love this, LJ. although there is a fair amount of their stuff that doesn't work for me. Also, still, to this day, most No Man albums leave me completely cold, they just sound so, so dated. The last one was good though.

yes the latest solo album is excellent.

also that's a pretty good interview. wilson comes across much better these days than he used to when his press releases and stuff were just filled with ego boasting and self-aggrandizement (or so they seemed to me at the time; I avoided his music for a few years because of it). really anticipating the storm corrision album. seeing wilson in april (and opeth in april as well! not together though).

wilson comes across much better these days than he used to when his press releases and stuff were just filled with ego boasting and self-aggrandizement (or so they seemed to me at the time; I avoided his music for a few years because of it)

I've always gotten this same vibe, like his every waking moment as a musician was literally *killing him* because he wasn't as successful and lauded as someone like Radiohead.

Gripping new video for the title track of SW's new solo album. The song's no slouch either. This guy just gets better and better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8sLcvWG1M4

i feel like i shouldn't like this guy but he seems to dedicate himself so much to getting better and pushing forward that I can't help it. his methods feel too calculated at times but I can't deny the results.

the new album is spectacularly good. live recording has done wonders for his music.

highlights, probably in this order: title track (just gorgeous and so very melancholy); the holy drinker; tempus fugit luminol

borrows a trick or two from Oceansize at the tail-end of that. decent, but for all his impeccable taste and musicianship, there's always something a bit...clinical about his music

that is ultimately why I figured I would dislike the guy but I do listen to PT albums a lot more than I really want to. back when he was opening aping the Orb and Pink Floyd there was something so mechanical about it. like if PT is your first obsession you're probably going to really love them, but once you've heard it all, it just makes you feel old and cynical. and then you realize that they (he) stayed better for longer than the Orb or even Floyd, precisely because he always puts his best foot forward, and yeah ultimately I do like this guy. plus his remastering job on Lizard may be the greatest remaster I've ever heard (in comparison to the original, that is). he definitely knows his shit.

i haven't really listened to this guy seriously in years but i always enjoy 'trains' when it comes up on shuffle

what's his best record from the past 10 years?

what's his best record from the past 10 years?

If collaborations are in scope, I'd go with No-Man's Together We're Stranger and Schoolyard Ghosts. The Raven That Refused to Sing is, as mentioned, outstanding and easily the best of Wilson's solo work.

I haven't heard it yet but a lot of prog dudes whose opinion I really trust are going nuts over Raven so I would say that one, even though, like I said, I have not heard it.

I could well believe he's just released his best work. That track really was quite pleasant

Looking forward to hearing this and hoping it restores some of the goodwill that was sucked away by that terrible Storm Corrosion record from last year. Seriously, that thing had the potential to be so wonderful, but it was deathly boring.

Insurgentes is a great record as well, not so keen on Grace for Drowning.

I'm not too well versed in PT but the last one The Incident was ace

He's coming to my shop for an in-store on Saturday. He visited us the year before last as well and is a lovely bloke. Looking forward to it.

Okay, holy fuck this thing is good. Now that I've had some time to spend with it, I can safely say this is the best thing he's ever released and I don't think its too far of a stretch to say that this would stand up well amongst even the best of the 70s Genesis and Yes catalogs. For all the neo-prog bands out there right now, this is the first one that I actually feel captures 100% the spirit of the original, classic run of prog. Fucking stunning.

it really is that good, and it also sounds thoroughly modern. the fact that it was recorded live (not steven wilson's usual way of doing things) only adds to the energy of the album.

i'm guessing his remix work on crimson's lizard album got under his skin, because he's sprinkled that exact jazz sound throughout this album, and it adds just the right colour.

That's a good point, I actually forgot he was involved in working on that, but it makes total sense. This thing is just so fucking good.

it is a great album. Insurgentes is also great; Grace almost as good. All three are excellent and if P Tree is done (which it kind of feels like) I'm not really going to miss them that much if he keeps putting out work of this quality.

Given the highly positive reception for this new record, I'd imagine it's increasingly less likely in SW's mind that PT will return. I'm also not that sentimental about such a scenario, although I would've preferred if it they had finished with Nil Recurring instead of The Incident.

I liked the Incident. It was a little overlong but there were a lot of great songs on there (most of them on the second ancillary disc)

True, with the exception of "Bonnie The Cat", the second disc is pretty solid. My problem was with the weaker material of "The Incident" itself and the frequent lack of flow between the songs. The whole thing just felt rushed.

I preferred The Incident to Fear of a Blank Planet. It seemed to take a step away from prog-metal that mirrored the increasingly diverse sound of his solo records. "I Drive the Hearse" is top 5 SW.

Another thing I admire about him is the effort he puts into the packaging of his albums. The hardback illustrated books and whatnot are very special. I'm kicking myself for not picking up the limited edition of the new one, which is now going for €200.

Saw PT live once in Boston just so I could be in the same room as mega-genius, Richard Barbieri.

RICHARD BARBIERI !!!

all of you going bonkers over that raven song, have a listen to this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAc5JCKfgZ0

Listened. It's ok but nothing like as good as "The Raven..." Plus, who's to say whether Wilson ever heard it or not.

bought The Raven on impulse a while back and misplaced it and forgot about it and found it this morning and opened it and played it and wow....this is fantastic

it really is. also, he's playing melbourne in october.

Holy shit, this "Raven" album is awesome.

right? listened again today, I just love it.

I love how much it adheres to classic '70s prog (well, Genesis, at least) while not sounding retro and also finding ways to toss in other musical references (whomever upthread noted that Wilson remixing the Crimson catalog has rubbed off well on him was OTM).

Wilson has uploaded a recording of the first song PT ever played live, sounds pretty great to me:

https://soundcloud.com/#steven-wilson/porcupine-tree-voyage-34-nags

Best Porcupine Tree joke ever.

Desus & Mero & Funky Gary the darknet Porcupine Tree bootleg site moderator who came through with the shrooms pic.twitter.com/lgAdqiHJBo

— PAPPADEMAS (@PAPPADEMAS) February 4, 2020

New social media activity:

? https://t.co/J0DV1klOKy#PTCC pic.twitter.com/omodPlRhO4

— Porcupine Tree (@PorcupineTree) October 28, 2021

Really hope this is about new stuff & not just some lame remaster or reissue.

New album and tour!

Some folks are no doubt going to say that this is a reaction to the lukewarm response to the last two SW albums, which they've anticipated by making it clear that the album is "12 years in the making". A back-to-basics record, perhaps?

New track's a banger though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW5v4Ohxk5k

I'm cautiously optimistic and dig the first track but, man, I hate how far ahead Wilson releases first singles. The album isn't out for a full eight months, ffs.

New interview:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/10/reunited-prog-rockers-porcupine-tree-on-surviving-their-rift-you-cant-help-but-feel-bitter

It did seem like Wilson just ran out of steam. I did not like 'The Incident' or much of his music that followed I heard all that much.

Stupid Dream > Deadwing was a really great run.

strange, because I find his solo albums much more involving than most PTree releases. that said I'm jazzed about this album and this tour, even though tickets were expensive as fuck. I've never paid this much money for Wilson or PTree in the past.

I think The Raven That Refused to Sing was fantastic and represented the peak of his solo work, been kind of diminishing returns for me since then, though I suspect it's more because I've kinda lost interest in the particular threads he's been chasing down, especially on the last two solo albums.

I am super excited for this one though.

That interview was weird, it does not paint a very pretty picture of Wilson and they all kind of do Colin dirty. There's not even a fleeting reference to him or acknowledgment that he was even a part of the band.

Yeah I wonder what went down with Colin Edwin

maybe i already said this before but colin used to live in the flat upstairs when my wife and i first moved in together. would hear him practsing his double-bass through the ceiling and it sounded cool, had no idea who porcupine tree were though. seemed like a nice guy

apparently that was in 1997-ish, just in case you were wondering (you so weren't)

I always felt that his kinda festi-dub meets the shopkeeper from Mr Ben vibe didn't really jive with the rest of the band.

It causes me mild dismay that some Porcupine Tree fans refer to them as "The Porkies". Still never really heard them, my taste in mainstream prog ceases at around 1976 though so maybe for the best. Apologies for shit contribution to the thread anyway.

theres only one porky and he does the prime cuts

In Absentia was a huge album for me in 2002-03 at the tail end of high school. I played it today for the first time in 20 years, and it still sounds wonderful to my ears, but I have no idea where to listen next in the Porcupine Tree discography and/or Steven Wilson Cinematic Universe. Should I move forward or backward from here? Are there specific albums I should seek out or avoid? Any pointers appreciated.

Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun are both pretty similar. I think I like those two slightly better but yea those 3 make up my favorite PT phase. They get a little heavier after that (Deadwing is still good), their prior stuff is spacey and nice but sometimes too derivative. Like it's a really good impression of King Crimson and Pink Floyd but he seems reluctant to do much that those groups don't do.

I also recently listened to In Abenstia for the first time in forever, it's really well made but it's made for a specific audience I think. Everyone I knew who was big into it was also into Radiohead and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, it's music for misanthropic-leaning teenagers who spend a lot of time alone and have deep thoughts. My wife has a 19 year old cousin and I found out this era of PT is still really huge in the college dorms in Mexico

wilson has a huge following in Mexico. It's still the only place I've randomly run into people on the street wearing his or PTree tour shirts.

I'd recommend Deadwing after In Absentia, it's a very similar album with the same proportion of heavy stuff to ballads. Last few tracks on Deadwing are exceptional.