Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb

[Samsara]

Really excited to listen to the record tomorrow. I received my notification that it has shipped from Amazon, so hopefully, it'll arrive early. If not, maybe I'll have an autorip available on Amazon.

I am hopeful for C/C. I really disliked The Incident, after really enjoying IA-Deadwing-FOABP. The snippets I've heard so far remind me of that era. Not that I expect SW to just go full-on retro, because I don't. But I am hoping that he realizes PT has a "sound" that must be present, and so far, from the brief snippets I have treated myself to, it's in the ballpark.

Looking forward to the tour. I saw PT do a one-off in San Francisco with Karnivool opening. It was an amazing night. I had never heard of Karnivool and excitedly asked the people in front of me at The Warfield who they were. Ran out the next day to buy Sound Awake and Themata and they have been a staple band for me ever since. And obviously, PT didn't disappoint. Hoping this show at the Masonic in San Fran is even better.

Fingers crossed for everything. 

[faizoff]

I received my notification that it has shipped from Amazon, so hopefully, it'll arrive early.

Was this for the single CD version?

[Samsara]

I received my notification that it has shipped from Amazon, so hopefully, it'll arrive early.

Was this for the single CD version?

Yes. I wanted the 2 CD, but the price difference was huge. I don't care about having instrumental tracks, so I couldn't see spending like 30 more bucks for two or three extra songs.

[gazinwales]

It's not just an extra CD with 3 extra songs, it's a Blu-Ray with surround sound, high resolution mixes and a big art book to look at.
For me it's the complete experience and worth the extra $65AU more than the normal CD version.

[faizoff]

Yeah the high res Blu-ray audio is what I'm most drawn to. It's also got a Dolby Atmos mix though I don't have the proper equipment to appreciate that mix, the rest will be sweet to hear.

[ErHaO]

Based on the reviews, those three bonus songs should not have been bonus songs. It is one of the reasons I went for the vinyl slipcase, the only vinyl that has those.

[goo-goo]

Based on the reviews, those three bonus songs should not have been bonus songs. It is one of the reasons I went for the vinyl slipcase, the only vinyl that has those.

I hope the bonus songs are on the streaming version of the album. It would suck if they don't.

[Kram]

Based on the reviews, those three bonus songs should not have been bonus songs. It is one of the reasons I went for the vinyl slipcase, the only vinyl that has those.

I hope the bonus songs are on the streaming version of the album. It would suck if they don't.

They're on the version I bought on iTunes. It had 10 songs for $9.99. Supposedly the album proper only has 7 songs.

[Samsara]

re: the limited edition

Didn't mean to offend anyone who want that version. I just meant for ME, the big set isn't worth the extra money. But obviously, if it is for you, I hope you get it and it arrives quickly.

Kram - thanks. I'll check that out. I'd like all the songs.

[KevShmev]

Closure / Continuation is undeniably a Porcupine Tree album.

A couple listens in and I can definitely hear the through-line of PT's evolution from IA-DW-FOABP-TI up to C/C, but I also hear some of Steven's solo work in the writing as well. Nothing has really stood out for me quite yet except the opener "Harridan", which funnily enough opens with a driving baseline that reminds us that Colin isn't here. A bit bold to open the album with a bass riff played by SW, it's quite the statement.

Maybe I'll share more thoughts as I get to know these songs a bit more over the weekend but first impressions are very positive. If they don't do another album ever again, this is a better swan song for PT than The Incident was over 10 years ago.

If this an improvement over The Incident, this new one will be a major winner as the Incident was pretty damn good.  And I recall fan reaction to it was pretty positive overall, but of course once the band started saying years later that they didn't think it was that good, negative nancies came out of the woodwork.   No, it's as great as many of their other records, but it is still really good.  Tons of very good/great songs on that one.

[Setlist Scotty]

Closure / Continuation is undeniably a Porcupine Tree album.

A couple listens in and I can definitely hear the through-line of PT's evolution from IA-DW-FOABP-TI up to C/C, but I also hear some of Steven's solo work in the writing as well. Nothing has really stood out for me quite yet except the opener "Harridan", which funnily enough opens with a driving baseline that reminds us that Colin isn't here. A bit bold to open the album with a bass riff played by SW, it's quite the statement.

Maybe I'll share more thoughts as I get to know these songs a bit more over the weekend but first impressions are very positive. If they don't do another album ever again, this is a better swan song for PT than The Incident was over 10 years ago.

If this an improvement over The Incident, this new one will be a major winner as the Incident was pretty damn good.  And I recall fan reaction to it was pretty positive overall, but of course once the band started saying years later that they didn't think it was that good, negative nancies came out of the woodwork.   No, it's as great as many of their other records, but it is still really good.  Tons of very good/great songs on that one.

Dunno if I would call myself a "negative nancy" but I know for me personally, TI never hit home like the previous 3 did. And I tried to like it, but after a few spins, I didn't try to force myself to like it. Will have to give it a spin - it's probably been at least a decade since I last heard any of it at all.

[jammindude]

I’m with Scotty. I could tell from day one that, while it was still good, it didn’t pack the punch of the previous albums. (But for me, I’d take it back more than 3….more like 6 or 7)

Even Time Flies. I did enjoy it a lot. But it only took a couple of spins for me to think “this is a bit derivative…even for Steven.” He tends to walk the razor of merging  “homage to the greats” and “SW personal originality”.  But Time Flies felt very much less than original. There are still brilliant moments to be had. The title track is worth the price of admission alone and I Drive the Hearse belongs solidly on any top 20. But the rest just sounds like a lot of unfinished ideas without the umph behind it.

[nobloodyname]

But the rest just sounds like a lot of unfinished ideas without the umph behind it.

And that's more or less what it was, as Steven says in his book.

[Zantera]

About to go for my first spin and I wouldn't say I have a negative mindset going in but I don't expect wonders from it. I think at best this will be a top25 album of the year for me but I'm already at 60 or 70 albums and I would say at least 50 of those have been pretty good. For PT to get involved with the AOTY contenders at this point they would almost need to put out one of their best albums, and I don't expect that. But I'm still curious to give this some listens.

[gazinwales]

Played the main album 4/5 times today, bloody brilliant, as good as anything they've done in the past.

[ErHaO]

Based on the reviews, those three bonus songs should not have been bonus songs. It is one of the reasons I went for the vinyl slipcase, the only vinyl that has those.

I hope the bonus songs are on the streaming version of the album. It would suck if they don't.

They are (10 songs total if everything is included).

re: the limited edition

Didn't mean to offend anyone who want that version. I just meant for ME, the big set isn't worth the extra money. But obviously, if it is for you, I hope you get it and it arrives quickly.

Kram - thanks. I'll check that out. I'd like all the songs.

No worries, I don't think you offended anyone. It is a steep price difference and seems to be mainly based around the 5.1 mix.

[RoeDent]

Dignity is gorgeous!

[Fritzinger]

Dignity is gorgeous!

Agreed. That guitar main lick could have been by Alex Lifeson in my opinion. Sounds a lot like him.

[Phoenix87x]

First impression of the new ablum is generally good. I'm going to need to listen to it many more times before forming a solid opinion.

[KevShmev]

Dunno if I would call myself a "negative nancy" but I know for me personally, TI never hit home like the previous 3 did. And I tried to like it, but after a few spins, I didn't try to force myself to like it. Will have to give it a spin - it's probably been at least a decade since I last heard any of it at all.

Okay, but given how great In Absentia, Deadwing and Fear... all are, I think it is fair to say that an album can be not as great as those three and still be damn good. That is how I view The Incident.  Not every album has to be a home run.  Sometimes, you just hit a double or a triple.

I’m with Scotty. I could tell from day one that, while it was still good, it didn’t pack the punch of the previous albums. (But for me, I’d take it back more than 3….more like 6 or 7)

Even Time Flies. I did enjoy it a lot. But it only took a couple of spins for me to think “this is a bit derivative…even for Steven.” He tends to walk the razor of merging  “homage to the greats” and “SW personal originality”.  But Time Flies felt very much less than original. There are still brilliant moments to be had. The title track is worth the price of admission alone and I Drive the Hearse belongs solidly on any top 20. But the rest just sounds like a lot of unfinished ideas without the umph behind it.

Time Flies is an interesting one for me in that it is clearly derivative of Floyd, yet despite pretty much using the acoustic guitar lead from Dogs and the bass lead from Time leading into the middle section, it really doesn't sound like either of those songs.  I don't quite put the song on the top tier level from that record, as I think the best songs are the title track, I Drive the Hearse and Bonnie the Cat, but it would be in the next grouping. Flicker is also a favorite, although I would agree that hearing that one fleshed out a little more could have made it that much better.   I get it if some feel like ditties like Great Expectations and Kneel and Disconnect are unfinished ideas, but I like them as great little snapshots that come in bite sizes within the flow and context of the suite.

[Lonk]

Enjoyed it on first spin, strong album 

[Stadler]

Okay, I have to ask:  what is that subtitle, and what does it mean (bearing in mind I am not a Steven Wilson fan, and so know little if anything about Porcupine Tree). 

[The Letter M]

Okay, I have to ask:  what is that subtitle, and what does it mean (bearing in mind I am not a Steven Wilson fan, and so know little if anything about Porcupine Tree).

Subtitle? Of the thread? "Glarung Is A Lightnulb"?

I assume it's a play on the lyrics "The sun is a lightbulb" grom the Porcupine Tree song "Lightbulb Sun", the title track to their 6th studio album from 2000.

-Marc.

[Lonk]

Okay, I have to ask:  what is that subtitle, and what does it mean (bearing in mind I am not a Steven Wilson fan, and so know little if anything about Porcupine Tree).

P/T? C/C?

It's the band and name of the album.

[Fritzinger]

Okay, I have to ask:  what is that subtitle, and what does it mean (bearing in mind I am not a Steven Wilson fan, and so know little if anything about Porcupine Tree).

Subtitle? Of the thread? "Glarung Is A Lightnulb"?

I assume it's a play on the lyrics "The sun is a lightbulb" grom the Porcupine Tree song "Lightbulb Sun", the title track to their 6th studio album from 2000.

-Marc.

I've been wondering about this too. Yes, it's because of the song Lightbulb Sun, but what does Glarung mean? English is not my first language, so maybe I just don't get it...

[nobloodyname]

Well, I'm a native English speaker and I've never got it, either

[Max Kuehnau]

Well, I'm a native English speaker and I've never got it, either

Glarung was/is a former user here, IIRC. I like the album, consistently nice, precise, musical (like every Gavin Harrison era PT album), great production, what more could we want.

[nobloodyname]

Well, I'm a native English speaker and I've never got it, either

Glarung was/is a former user here, IIRC.

Could be onto something there although the username appears to be 'glaurung'.

Just finished my first listen. Bit underwhelmed but then I was never a big PT fan. Steven solo was much more interesting. Be interesting to see if it grows, though.

[Fritzinger]

Well maybe it's time to change the thread name 

[The Letter M]

Yeah, looks like glaurung hasn't posted in four years. And maybe Nick just couldn't spell when he made the thread a decade ago? 

But yes, now that there's an actual new album out today, the thread title should be updated.

-Marc.

[glaurung]

The name stays

[goo-goo]

The name stays

 

[MinistroRaven]

The name stays

 

 

[Skeever]

 

[ReaperKK]

That's hilarious lol