Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb

[Sacul]

Drown With Me is the best track (not) on In Absentia

FTFM

[KevShmev]

I did a PT top 50 countdown maybe 5-6 years ago (IIRC) and cannot remember what was where, but if I did one, In Absentia would be one of those albums that might not have a song in the top 10, but would probably have anywhere from 4 to 6 in the 11-30 range.  Collapse the Light into Earth might squeeze into the top 10.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Heartattack in a Layby is definitely the best song on the album. I kinda agree with SW that Gravity Eyelids in the weakest, too. I like it well enough, but it's never one I'd put on unless I'm listening through the whole album.

[KevShmev]

Heartattack in a Layby is definitely the best song on the album. I kinda agree with SW that Gravity Eyelids in the weakest, too. I like it well enough, but it's never one I'd put on unless I'm listening through the whole album.

SW thought Prodigal was the least best, not Gravity Eyelids, just FYI.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Oh, well fuck him then.

[Revenge319]

I didn't feel like listening to an entire album tonight, but I've kept hearing about how great the song Dark Matter was, so I gave it a listen just now... and it is really great. Not sure where I'd rank it among all the Porcupine Tree albums I know. But chances are, it'll end up pretty high in my rankings, because that guitar solo is perfection.

[Fritzinger]

Signify is one of the three albums I don't know very well (the other ones being the first two). I have heard it a couple of times, but that was a few years ago. How would you rank this album in the PT discography?

[DTA]

Signify is my favorite PT album. It's got the perfect blend of the spacy instrumental side of early PT and the song-based stuff they'd come into on the albums after. In Absentia cones very close but there's something about the vibe of the Signify era that I love. I'm usually in the minority though as I think their "metal" albums are the weakest (DW and FoaBP) and greatly prefer the overall sound of UTD, V34, and TSMS.

[Zantera]

At the time when I got into PT i did not mind the metal aspect and FOABP was my favorite for the longest time. Now in retrospect 10 years later with all the music I have discovered since, the change in perspective as a result of that (and growing older) I definitely feel like the metal aspect of their sound has aged the most poorly. I still enjoy that stuff but I feel like the 'middle years' is peak PT. I would say Signify-Stupid Dream-Lightbulb Sun are their best albums because you get elements of earlier PT mixed with the more melodic elements of later PT. IA, DW and FOABP are all great too but I definitely don't regard them as highly as I once did.

[Phoenix87x]

Signify has 2 of my favorite PT songs: Sleep of no dreaming and Dark matter

Besides that, I don't like it very much

[Elite]

Signify is my favourite Porcupine Tree album

[jammindude]

Signify is kind of a weird album. Because so many of the tracks are not really standalone songs. They either belong as intros of other songs, extensions of other songs, or interludes between songs. The album really has to be listen to is a complete piece. It is one of those "album experiences".

Idiot prayer is probably my all-time favorite porcupine tree instrumental EDIT - but of course, there are always 2-3 vying for this position

[Buddyhunter1]

Signify is definitely the peak of their psychedelic era before they moved onto more song-oriented albums with Stupid Dream. Dark Matter is great but both parts of Waiting deserve more appreciation. Part 1 is a lovely self-contained song and Part 2 is an excellent atmospheric instrumental with a super satisfying conclusion.

[Revenge319]

I'm worried about potentially overrating songs these days, but I think at least four songs on Deadwing (Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, Mellotron Scratch, The Start of Something Beautiful, Glass Arm Shattering) are all worth a perfect 10/10.

(To clarify, what I mean by "overrating" is, for example, giving a song a 10 when later on I might realize that while I still love the song as much as I did, I feel it's more of a 9.5 or something.)

[The Letter M]

https://porcupinetreeofficial.bandcamp.com/album/indigo2-2008

A few days after filming the concert in The Netherlands that would later be released as Anesthetize, Porcupine Tree wound up a nine date mini tour (and the Fear of a Blank Planet album cycle), with this hometown show. At least two of the band are sick and there are some rough edges, but perhaps with the knowledge that the film is in the can, this spirited performance has a looser and more relaxed feel to other shows with similar repertoire from this period.

This is the complete 2 hour concert in high resolution 96k/24 bit audio.
credits
released October 6, 2020

Recorded at the IndigO2, London on 19th Oct 2008 under the supervision of Ian Bond.

Mixed September 2020.
Audio resolution - 96K / 24 bit

-Marc.

[ReaperKK]

Love the setlist, I'm going to pick this up.

[The Letter M]

SNAPPER MUSIC ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A NEW DEAL WITH PORCUPINE TREE TO REPRESENT THEIR TRANSMISSION LABEL WORLDWIDE

Snapper Music have held a close relationship with Porcupine Tree since the release of the 1999 album 'Stupid Dream' on their Kscope imprint. The label acquired the band's early work on the Delerium label in 2006 and later the Warner 'Lava' years material in 2017.

The first Transmission release on the new deal in November will be a deluxe 13 CD box set chronicling the evolution of Porcupine Tree, bringing together all of the band's recordings issued by the Delerium label between 1992-97. A deluxe multi-disc edition of the band's 2005 acclaimed album 'Deadwing' will follow in 2021.

Snapper Music MD Frederick Jude comments "20 years on we greatly appreciate the successful working relationship we have maintained with the band"

Porcupine Tree founder and frontman, Steven Wilson comments... "Myself and the band are very happy to have all our work united on our transmission imprint through Snapper Music, a label we've had a long and extremely positive relationship with. We are discussing many exciting possibilities for the catalogue going forward, plans that will take in definitive special editions of existing albums, but also open the vaults to archive material."

Glad to see there will be a Deadwing box set following the In Absentia one (which I still need to get).

-Marc.

[Revenge319]

A Deadwing box set sounds nice! It'll probably be too expensive for me, though.

[ReaperKK]

Just a had a listen to Pure Narcotic the new release of an acoustic recording from 2012, great little ep. I really do miss PT.

https://porcupinetreeofficial.bandcamp.com/album/pure-narcotic-acoustic-session-2012

[ProfessorPeart]

Finally gave in a picked up the Deluxe In Absentia. It arrived today and, I have to say, it is really a nice set. Much bigger than I expected. I bought it new from Amazon via a third-party seller with Amazon shipping. The thing was still completely sealed and was packaged in super protective packaging. Even better, the seller had slipped the replacement Blu-ray disc into the shipping box. I did not expect that at all and was super surprised and appreciative.

I still think $83 is a bit steep for this, but I can't deny the quality.

[HOF]

Trains is PT best song.

Probably gets my vote too.

[Revenge319]

Trains is PT best song.

Probably gets my vote too.

Trains has grown on me, and I do think it's very good, but it's far from even my favorite PT song on In Absentia. Blackest Eyes, The Sound of Muzak, Wedding Nails, .3, The Creator Has A Mastertape, Heartattack in a Layby, and Collapse the Light Into Earth are all songs I could easily say are better than Trains.

As for my favorite PT song overall, it's a tie between The Start of Something Beautiful and Anesthetize.

[Zydar]

Trains is PT best song.

Probably gets my vote too.

That seems to be the general consensus, but I've never understood why Trains is better than the other PT songs. I mean, I like it, but there are others that I would rank higher.

[RoeDent]

Yeah, even on In Absentia I can name at least five songs I'd rank higher than Trains on personal preference. Sound of Muzak, Gravity Eyelids, Blackest Eyes, Prodigal, .3. And my favourite IA song is not even on the main album, namely Drown With Me.

[Phoenix87x]

I don't know if its my favorite, but Trains is up there for sure. And whenever I want to share PT with someone I typically play them Trains.

[HOF]

I'm not necessarily a huge PT fan, but Trains was one of their first songs I heard and it really blew me away at the time. One of those songs that just feels like a great song. Sound of Muzak would also be up there, I guess, maybe Lightbulb Sun or Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled. She's moved on is good. But I'd probably stick with Trains.

[emtee]

I love so many of their songs but I think The Start Of Something Beautiful is slightly above the rest.

[Zydar]

I have a soft spot for Lazarus, it was the first PT song I fell in love with as a new listener.

[emtee]

Deadwing in it's entirety is my first PT experience and it remains my favorite of theirs.

[Ben_Jamin]

I consider Arriving Somewhere But Not Here their best song.

My favorite all time Porcupine Tree song is The Start of Something Beautiful. So happy I got to see it live, when they toured with Coheed and Cambria. Good thing I went too...

[HOF]

If I had to pick a favorite from Deadwing, I'd go with Mellotron Scratch, because it mentions mellotrons. :-) Arriving Somewhere is good too, but as a whole that album kind of turned me off from PT.

[HOF]

If I had to pick a favorite from Deadwing, I'd go with Mellotron Scratch, because it mentions mellotrons. :-) Arriving Somewhere is good too, but as a whole that album kind of turned me off from PT.

Listening to Deadwing now for the first time in a long time, and its not just the name. Mellotron Scratch really is the standout track here.

[HOF]

Listening to Fear of a Blank Planet now (this was actually the last PT album I bought). Not sure why I rarely listen to this, but it's a much more exciting listen than Deadwing.

[Zantera]

Arriving Somewhere to me is a good first 5-6 minutes and then the metal part really drags it down and the song just goes on for too long. Mellotron Scratch is easily my favorite from Deadwing too.

[HOF]

Arriving Somewhere to me is a good first 5-6 minutes and then the metal part really drags it down and the song just goes on for too long. Mellotron Scratch is easily my favorite from Deadwing too.

I totally agree about Arriving Somewhere. A great song on the whole but the metal riffs are just kind of repetitive and unnecessary. That album felt a bit like they were trying to cater to the general metal audience (maybe to justify being on Roadrunner?)