Author Topic: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb  (Read 224987 times)

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Offline Kram

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2695 on: June 29, 2022, 10:29:12 AM »
The original Fear CD did not have the Nil Recurring tracks, thus they are not part of the album. Including them on the later-released vinyl was probably more of a "let's put them all on one release" type of thing.  Revisionist history, even by the artist, does not change the facts. When Fear of a Blank Planet was released in 2007, it had six songs. No more, no less.
Yes, I consider them 2 different albums.  Or 1 album and 1 EP. Even if they were from the same sessions/era..

Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2696 on: June 29, 2022, 10:48:03 AM »
Actually another bone I have to pick with SW is all these bonus tracks spread across various releases. It's hard to keep up with and annoying to have x songs on y album but you can also get z songs that are also available on these other formats

Fucking Steven Wilson

I mean, most of the time it's actually pretty simple? Most of the B-sides for In Absentia were released as the Futile EP, there's also the Nil Recurring EP, Recordings, and the bonus disc for C/C... it's a lot better than just having individual songs floating around and not belonging to any official release.

The only time to my knowledge this didn't happen was for Deadwing. That album had a lot of B-sides like Half Light and So-Called Friend that should have been put on an EP like with Futile or Nil Recurring, but it never happened for whatever reason.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2697 on: June 29, 2022, 12:16:10 PM »
Actually another bone I have to pick with SW is all these bonus tracks spread across various releases. It's hard to keep up with and annoying to have x songs on y album but you can also get z songs that are also available on these other formats

Fucking Steven Wilson

I mean, most of the time it's actually pretty simple? Most of the B-sides for In Absentia were released as the Futile EP, there's also the Nil Recurring EP, Recordings, and the bonus disc for C/C... it's a lot better than just having individual songs floating around and not belonging to any official release.

The only time to my knowledge this didn't happen was for Deadwing. That album had a lot of B-sides like Half Light and So-Called Friend that should have been put on an EP like with Futile or Nil Recurring, but it never happened for whatever reason.

I've been hoping for a Deadwing remaster/re-issue like they did with In Absentia, and collecting all of the session-demos and unused songs, and all of the recorded B-Sides all onto a bonus disc like they did with IA. As far as I know, these are all the non-album songs either written, recorded, and/or released from that time:
Revenant
Mother And Child Divided
Half-Light
So-Called Friend
Christenings
Godfearing
Collecting Space

Maybe some day he'll revisit the album and make everything available from that period.

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Offline Zantera

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2698 on: June 29, 2022, 01:52:52 PM »
I must admit I went into this album a bit skeptical because SW has lost some of his shine for me and I haven't really loved an album since Grace For Drowning and there's been a bit of a decline album to album since, The Future Bites being the low point where I almost felt done with 'loving' his music. PT being dead for a decade also meant I didn't really go back as much and I guess over time the appreciation I once had for PT kinda got covered in dust and cobwebs and it was like a treasure forgotten in time.

But I really like this new album even more than I thought. It's quite telling that I hadn't even pre-ordered the album (I figured I could just get a copy once it came out) but after a few spins I kinda rushed to get the deluxe edition and a colored vinyl because I don't wanna miss out on it. I don't really want to talk about this album in context of their discography and how it fares against their other albums - because that's kinda unfair and recency bias is a thing and some of those other albums I've heard so many times over so many years - it's just not a comparison I can make now. But I think the album is wonderful, I think it has everything we know and like from the band and it still manages to feel like a fresh logical 'next step' from where they left off.

Just feeling happy I'm enjoying it so much because for me this blows HCE/TTB/TFB out of the water.

Offline Pyroph

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2699 on: June 29, 2022, 04:18:05 PM »
I... don't agree. It's a pretty by the numbers album to me personally. I'll be the dissenting opinion.

Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2700 on: June 29, 2022, 05:11:13 PM »
For me, Steven Wilson's solo music was finally starting to reach the point where it rivaled the quality of PT - I really enjoyed HCE and TTB, and I'd put them right below the three best PT albums. TFB was unsurprisingly a big nosedive for me and this album's not quite as good as HCE or TTB, so whatever Steven Wilson decides to do next I hope he can reach another peak before too long.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2701 on: June 29, 2022, 05:55:18 PM »
It is still too early for me to even think about how the new album rates against all of the other PT albums, as well as SW's solo ones, but I just know that I am loving it so far.

Aside from Barbieri and Harrison and their obvious styles, the one thing that really puts the stamp on this sounding very much like PT and not really like a SW solo album is Wilson's guitar playing.  His style when it comes to both riffing and soloing is very distinct, and even when he played on his own solo albums, he really shied away from that style outside of the occasional moments.  He is not a technical marvel, but I love the way he plays.

Offline Kram

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2702 on: June 29, 2022, 06:12:30 PM »
I agree his guitar playing style is a signature of PT's sound.  I would probably categorize him as not a great lead guitar player, but a very good rhythm guitar player.

And while I also agree with you Kev that it's too early to rate this against the other albums.  I do however think I'm prepared to say Dignity is one of the best songs they've ever written.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2703 on: June 30, 2022, 10:05:12 AM »
I agree his guitar playing style is a signature of PT's sound.  I would probably categorize him as not a great lead guitar player, but a very good rhythm guitar player.

And while I also agree with you Kev that it's too early to rate this against the other albums.  I do however think I'm prepared to say Dignity is one of the best songs they've ever written.

Dignity is a good one, for sure.   :coolio :coolio

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2704 on: June 30, 2022, 10:10:08 AM »
Kev, I think you will absolutely love Randy McStine as the 2nd guitarist in the band.  Great feel and chops and a great voice.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2705 on: June 30, 2022, 11:54:56 AM »
Kev, I think you will absolutely love Randy McStine as the 2nd guitarist in the band.  Great feel and chops and a great voice.

Sweet.  Now, if you can talk to the band and get them to add a STL date...


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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2706 on: June 30, 2022, 12:00:19 PM »
Kev, I think you will absolutely love Randy McStine as the 2nd guitarist in the band.  Great feel and chops and a great voice.

Sweet.  Now, if you can talk to the band and get them to add a STL date...



I am not sure if it was in this thread (or elsewhere) but there was speculation that another North American run will happen next year too.

Offline Hubert

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2707 on: June 30, 2022, 01:56:44 PM »
This review sums up my own feeling towards this album (https://proglodytes.com/2022/06/24/album-review-porcupine-tree-closure-continuation/)

Quote
I hear some excellent tracks with interesting compositional choices, and some absolutely stellar playing. But, I don’t feel the particular affection I have had for other Porcupine Tree/Wilson releases

It's brilliantly executed, it has all the ingredients that should make it work, but I don't know why, I don't really connect to any of the songs.

I remember discovering PT with Signify, and my favorite album is probably Lightbulb Sun, followed closely by In Abstentia. Then my interest faded little by little - although there are flashes of brilliance in every albums.

The situation with Colin, though, is a dick move. Imagine being in a band for over 20 years and receiving an email saying that you won't be needed for the next album... That would be like Petrucci playing the bass on a new DT album, and casually emailing Myung to tell him "he won't be needed".

Sure, it's "SW's band", but he went to do his solo stuff precisely to do whatever else he wanted. Not much respect for his fellow band member there.

Offline Kram

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2708 on: June 30, 2022, 04:31:27 PM »
The situation with Colin, though, is a dick move. Imagine being in a band for over 20 years and receiving an email saying that you won't be needed for the next album... That would be like Petrucci playing the bass on a new DT album, and casually emailing Myung to tell him "he won't be needed".

Sure, it's "SW's band", but he went to do his solo stuff precisely to do whatever else he wanted. Not much respect for his fellow band member there.
Agreed.  And I'm a big SW fan.  But I don't like how that whole thing played out.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2709 on: June 30, 2022, 06:11:35 PM »
Another way to look at it is, Wilson was the band's original bass player, so he merely took back what used to be his spot. :P

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2710 on: June 30, 2022, 08:09:24 PM »
Another way to look at it is, Wilson was the band's original bass player, so he merely took back what used to be his spot. :P

Honestly, that's close to how I see it. Yeah Steven did Colin dirty, but at the end of the day it's Steven's band and always has been, no matter whoever else has been apart of it for however long. And if SW feels his ideas for the bass parts suit these songs more than what Colin would hypothetically contribute, then he's just gonna handle that role himself in the studio and get a hired gun for the tour so that his bass parts are played how he wants them. And he's doing just that.
Not saying I agree with it, but it doesn't surprise me too much.


I've listened to the new album at least twice every day since it came out. I like it a lot, and I'm enjoying it more with every listen, but I don't know if it's gonna crack my top 5.
My opinion on The Incident has gone up and down over the years, but no matter what, I always thought it was a lackluster conclusion to PT, and I'm glad that it's no longer the conclusion. If C/C is the conclusion, then I think it's a fine one. If this is the beginning of a new chapter of the band, even better.
I think part of my enjoyment of the record comes from the fact that it just feels good to have a new PT album after 13 years, y'know? Half of my life basically :lol

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2711 on: June 30, 2022, 08:26:24 PM »
Not like he hasn't played bass on the latter albums because it fit the leader's vision.
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Offline Hubert

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2712 on: June 30, 2022, 09:41:07 PM »
at the end of the day it's Steven's band and always has been, no matter whoever else has been apart of it for however long. And if SW feels his ideas for the bass parts suit these songs more than what Colin would hypothetically contribute, then he's just gonna handle that role himself in the studio and get a hired gun for the tour so that his bass parts are played how he wants them. And he's doing just that.

Yep, I agree that's exactly what happened.

But if this is SW's band (which it is), one could reasonably wonder what is the point of his solo career. The point of a band is actually to have different people bring something different to the table, so that the result is unique to the combination of these people.

It's an interesting case of what's more important: the human connection, or the "product". Unless there's an obvious dispute, I find that loyalty is something important and that's probably why I find this whole situation rather dire.

Also I'm a bass player, so I'm probably biaised  :angel:

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2713 on: June 30, 2022, 10:37:50 PM »
at the end of the day it's Steven's band and always has been, no matter whoever else has been apart of it for however long. And if SW feels his ideas for the bass parts suit these songs more than what Colin would hypothetically contribute, then he's just gonna handle that role himself in the studio and get a hired gun for the tour so that his bass parts are played how he wants them. And he's doing just that.
But if this is SW's band (which it is), one could reasonably wonder what is the point of his solo career. The point of a band is actually to have different people bring something different to the table, so that the result is unique to the combination of these people.

This is the sticking point for me. I remember an interview he did after PT went on hiatus where he expressed that if PT had stayed together it would've sounded like his solo work but listening to C/C that's clearly not the case, C/C is a PT record through and through and not a SW solo joint. Whether SW likes to admit it or not the other members of PT brough character and life to PT that was beyond him even if he did write the music and call all the shots. A performer (or studio musican) will put his touch on the music and over the span of albums that touch will grow to become a trademark sound and Colin is one of those performers.

Personally speaking there is a reason I prefer almost all of PT's output over SW's output and it isn't SW. It's the atmosphere that Richard brings, the sweet laid back groove that Colin brought, and the theatrics that Gavin brought to the table (Chris brought some incredible flavors to the music as well) that all lacks in SW's solo work.

I feel like SW is trying to whitewash Colin's contributions to the group, who knows maybe SW told Colin what bass to pick up, what amps and effects to use, and what pickup to play through but I highly doubt that. Who knows what happened between the band and Colin, maybe Colin said he'd return only if PT did a mumba trance album in 7/2 time signatures and Steven shot him down but knowing how tactless Steven has been in the past I doubt that. This is very on-brand for him (see his comments on Chris during the IA documentary, his comments on EVH, his comments on Colin, his opinions on streaming music).

I've been drinking so this is going to come off as a drunken rant which I might delete later.

Offline The Curious Orange

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2714 on: July 01, 2022, 03:42:39 AM »
I always found Colin's bass playing added a human touch to what would otherwise be a very clinical band. Not a criticism of the new album or line up in any sense, just an observation.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2715 on: July 01, 2022, 05:18:00 AM »

I've listened to the new album at least twice every day since it came out. I like it a lot, and I'm enjoying it more with every listen, but I don't know if it's gonna crack my top 5.
My opinion on The Incident has gone up and down over the years, but no matter what, I always thought it was a lackluster conclusion to PT, and I'm glad that it's no longer the conclusion. If C/C is the conclusion, then I think it's a fine one. If this is the beginning of a new chapter of the band, even better.
I think part of my enjoyment of the record comes from the fact that it just feels good to have a new PT album after 13 years, y'know? Half of my life basically :lol

This is me so far as well. I am listening to it multiple times every day, definitely loving it, but I'd be surprised if it ends up as a top 5 PT record for me. They just have too many albums that are so damn great.  Always a good problem to have!

I would have been fine with The Incident being their finale since I liked that a lot, but I'd be fine with C/C being it now as well, although this definitely scratches that "I want more PT" itch, so I hope more albums are to come in the future.  I have loved SW's solo career, but PT is just a bit more special.  :coolio :coolio

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2716 on: July 01, 2022, 05:44:40 AM »
As much as I was skeptical about the reunion, I ended up enjoying the album. Harridan and Rats return are probably my favorites, with the closer and Dignity also being very good. It's a bit difficult to compare it to the earlier stuff, because some of it is untouchable for me. The streak of albums from Lightbulb sun up to and including Fear of the blank planet is tremendous, and I also prefer Stupid dream and Signify over the new one.

But on the bright side, this leaves room for improvement if they end up releasing one more album.  :tup

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2717 on: July 01, 2022, 06:04:15 AM »
From their listening party they had the other day, they mentioned it's one of their top 3 albums that includes Fear and In Absentia.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2718 on: July 01, 2022, 06:11:32 AM »
Man, if I had a nickel for every time an artist said about their new album, "It is (one of) our best!", Elon Musk would be eating his heart out. :P

To be fair, "Our new album isn't one of our better ones," probably isn't a great marketing strategy. :lol 

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2719 on: July 01, 2022, 06:13:36 AM »
Man, if I had a nickel for every time an artist said about their new album, "It is (one of) our best!", Elon Musk would be eating his heart out. :P

To be fair, "Our new album isn't one of our better ones," probably isn't a great marketing strategy. :lol 

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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2720 on: July 01, 2022, 06:17:13 AM »
Man, if I had a nickel for every time an artist said about their new album, "It is (one of) our best!", Elon Musk would be eating his heart out. :P

To be fair, "Our new album isn't one of our better ones," probably isn't a great marketing strategy. :lol 

"You know this album isn't really my favorite or best but inflation is a bitch and I gotta pay the bills"

The future bites, indeed.

Offline devieira73

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2721 on: July 01, 2022, 11:05:44 AM »
Gavin is in the MD magazine:

Modern Drummer July 2022 issue. On the cover @gavinharrisonpage
Gavin talks about the writing and recording of the new Porcupine Tree record Closure / Continuation, playing with Pineapple Thief, his unmistakable sound, English Drumming, Available now at www.moderndrummer.com
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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2722 on: July 01, 2022, 12:26:50 PM »
The new album has kinda inspired me to go through their discography and listen back to some albums - because I used to listen to them so much that I got burnt out and some of them I haven't heard in a few years. My main take away - and this might sound controversial though honestly I don't mean for it to - but as much as I love this band, I don't think they made a 10/10 perfect album. Having gone through them, even the best ones have a song or two that very clearly (to me at least) feel weaker than the rest. Not bad - but weaker. But with that said, I do think the band has one of the most consistently good discographies. Their weakest album is still like a 6/10 for me and they have a bunch of very good 8.5 or 9 pointers. I would take their whole discography over some other bands that might have an album or two I would call 10/10 because maybe the rest just drastically declines.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2723 on: July 01, 2022, 12:54:39 PM »
Gavin is in the MD magazine:

Modern Drummer July 2022 issue. On the cover @gavinharrisonpage
Gavin talks about the writing and recording of the new Porcupine Tree record Closure / Continuation, playing with Pineapple Thief, his unmistakable sound, English Drumming, Available now at www.moderndrummer.com

Can anyone copy and paste the text here?

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Offline devieira73

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2724 on: July 01, 2022, 08:39:22 PM »
Sorry, Kev, it wasn't my intention. I just wanted to let people know that the current issue of MD has the main article with Gavin Harrison. But now I get why the frustration, so, my bad. I would like to read the article myself.
By the way, anyone can get any back issue of MD separately here:
https://www.moderndrummer.com/product-category/magazine-shop/
BUT only if you wait at least 9 months to be avaible... this selling strategy I don't understand AT ALL. Why not be avaible in the very month? I'm still waiting to appear the January issue with Mangini to purchase. Anyway, nothing to do with this thread.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2725 on: July 02, 2022, 05:30:03 AM »
No worries at all!  That was a general frustration, not meant to be aimed at you. :tup :tup

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2726 on: July 03, 2022, 02:05:18 AM »
I’m very happy with the new record and it can undoubtedly stand proudly in line with the rest of the discography! That’s an accomplishment for sure.

However I wouldn’t know where to rank it just yet in the PT/SW album discography. All I know is I’ve always considered SW a musical genius, where everything he touches turns to gold. This changed with The Future Bites. I still quite like it, but to me it’s easily his weakest album.

With PT I love the atmosphere, riffage and good pop songwriting. The SW albums I like equal but Raven, HCE and to a lesser extent To The Bone had incredible highs with Guthrie Govan’s (and later a few others’) beautiful solos. That’s an element that definitely sets the solo albums apart from PT. I also adore SW’s guitar solos but the solo albums have a special element to it with the ‘sky is the limit’ aspect to the guitar and synth solos. I know that doesn’t really apply to Insurgentes and GfD, but those had respectively a post-punk influence and a jazz-fusion element that made them unique.

PT and SW solo, however not the same, always had that shooting for the stars mentality, or the ‘epic’ ambitions if you will. The Future Bites is daring in its straightforward and electronic approach, but it definitely misses the climaxes SW can do so well. The album had me feared that SW simply wasn’t interested anymore in that type of musical vocabulary.

Closure / Continuation has taken those fears away from me. It’s the type of music I know and love from Wilson. Still, I wouldn’t say it’s a safe sounding album. ‘Harridan’ is definitely a track that needed a lot of spins. In fact, it has been growing on me since it got released as a single. It’s definitely a Gavin showpiece but it’s also really mean sounding with that bass part. It has the SW solo stylings (the loosely timed talking/singing and falsetto scats, the telecaster playing we’ve seen from him since To The Bone) but it also has probably the single heaviest sounding riff I’ve heard on a PT song yet. The calm bridge returns at the end and it concludes on an unresolved chord.. it’s just magical and unforgettable even after countless listens.

‘Chimera’s Wreck’ has this almost Tool-like feel with the triplet-rhythms and chanting from SW. It’s marvelous and something that really caught me off guard. It drives the song forward in a way that feels highly unusual and new for PT.

‘Walk the Plank’ is another standout to me. It sounds like a SW solo electronic track but is enhanced by the PT treatment. Actually Richard brought in the main elements of the track, and this has me excited for more electronic adventures in the future.

‘Dignity’ finally is a beautiful reminder that these are actually some of the people who made ‘Even Less’. It has that innocent sounding melody and atmosphere of the Stupid Dream / Lightbulb Sun era and I absolutely think it’s the best song of the album.

Finally, ‘Love in the Past Tense’ plays somewhat like the ending credits to the album. It sounds particularly carefree and it never ceases to put me in a blissful state of mind. I just love the main vamp of the song and it reminds me a lot of The Incident disc 2, especially ‘Flicker’ for some reason.

Anyway I don’t really have a conclusion yet but I just wanted to write down some of my thoughts on C / C. It’s great stuff!

Not 'Down To F***', but 'Dream Theater Forums' .

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2727 on: July 03, 2022, 06:25:53 AM »


Anyway I don’t really have a conclusion yet but I just wanted to write down some of my thoughts on C / C. It’s great stuff!

 :tup :tup

Good stuff! (I shortened the quote down to your last sentence for the sake of the page)


Offline Kram

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2728 on: July 03, 2022, 01:47:54 PM »
Yes, great summation PixelDream. I agree with most of what you posted.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb
« Reply #2729 on: July 03, 2022, 06:29:56 PM »
That climax at the end of Dignity is pretty special, and is a great example of Richard Barbieri coming up with just the right tone and notes to make it sound awesome despite it not being some technical wonderland.