Porcupine Tree – The Incident Review

Posted by Enrique on 09.16.2009

Ten albums into its career, Porcupine Tree releases its strongest work yet. The Incident is an ambitious, diverse, stunning collection of music – a must-have for fans of contemporary rock.



Band

Steve Wilson – vocals, guitars, keyboards
Richard Barbieri – synthesizers, keyboards
Colin Edwin – bass guitar, double bass
Gavin Harrison – drums, percussion

Songs

Disc 1:

1. Occam’s Razor (1:56)
2. The Blind House (5:47)
3. Great Expectations (1:26)
4. Kneel and Disconnect (2:03)
5. Drawing the Line (4:43)
6. The Incident (5:20)
7. Your Unpleasant Family (1:48)
8. The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train (2:00)
9. Time Flies (11:41)
10. Degree Zero of Liberty (1:45)
11. Octane Twisted (5:03)
12. The Séance (2:39)
13. Circle of Manias (2:19)
14. I Drive the Hearse (6:44)

Disc 2:

1. Flicker (3:42)
2. Bonnie the Cat (5:45)
3. Black Dahlia (3:40)
4. Remember Me Lover (7:34)

British progressive rockers Porcupine Tree have been around in some form since 1987, when it began as a spoof of 70’s psychedelic bands. Throughout the 90’s it evolved from an instrumental art rock act concerned with creating “soundscapes” into a proper band that wrote proper songs. 1999’s Stupid Dream was the first album of Porcupine Tree’s second act, and they’ve only improved with each subsequent release. After Steve Wilson collaborated with Swedish metallers Opeth in the first half of this decade, Porcupine Tree’s output became progressively heavier, but not at the expense of accessibility – 2007’s Fear of a Blank Planet was PT’s most successful album yet.

Porcupine Tree’s ever-growing popularity is something of a pleasant surprise to snobbish music fans like yours truly. Although their songwriting is top-notch and features hooky melodies anyone can bob their head to, they aren’t afraid to embark on the grandiose compositions that can turn off mainstream listeners – the centerpiece of …Blank Planet was a 17-minute song called “Anesthetize.” It's comforting Porcupine Tree has never dumbed down its sound in order to appeal to the masses. If anything, they’ve become more esoteric, and yet the masses keeping jumping on the bandwagon. Good thing, too – PT deserves every bit of success it gets.

If the trend continues, The Incident will be even more successful than …Blank Planet, and if so, it will be well earned. For a taste, please enjoy this 9-minute sampler at your leisure:



The Incident begins with a slow build approach featuring the familiar PT elements – haunting electronica, angular riffs, and Steve Wilson’s captivating vocals, all supported by the always-spot-on Edwin/Harrison rhythm section. “Occam’s Razor,” “The Blind House,” “Great Expectations,” and “Kneel and Disconnect” all flow together like a single composition, and are characteristic of 2000’s-era melancholy/hypnotic/brilliant Porcupine Tree. “Drawing the Line” takes a bit of an unexpected turn with its bouncy chorus, which comes off like ersatz arena rock, but it provides a handy segue to the brooding title track. Dark and entrancing, “The Incident” is a stand-out PT song, and the album really begins to open up at that point.

“Your Unpleasant Family” is a nice piece of dark British wit (“Your unpleasant family smashed up my car (perfectly uncalled for)”) and “The Yellow Windows…” is an instrumental mood-setter for the album’s centerpiece “Time Flies.” This 11-minute track is, well, everything you could want out of an 11-minute Porcupine Tree song. Like Opeth, PT has a knack for taking the listener on a rewarding journey during its longer compositions, and “Time Flies” stacks up well against the most adventurous songs in the PT catalog. As it heads into its final third, The Incident takes a nice heavy turn with “Octane Twisted” and “The Séance/Circle of Manias.” Although not really a “heavy” band, Porcupine Tree can be damn heavy when it wants to be, and “Circle of Manias” is a great example of that side of their sound. “I Drive the Hearse” is a fitting album closer, another quintessential PT song.

And if those weren’t enough tasty tunes for you, there are four bonus tracks. Hooray! Don’t sleep on the bonus disc – “Bonnie the Cat” and “Remember Me Lover” are two seriously rocking numbers, and the other tunes fit right in with Porcupine Tree’s usual standard of quality. At the end of the day, you’ve got 75 minutes worth of thoroughly enjoyable music – who could ask for anything more? Don’t miss out – become a Porcupine Tree fan today! You won’t regret it, I assure you.

The 411: The Incident strikes this listener as another terrific effort from a band that somehow keeps improving. In many ways they’ve established a formula, but they continuously add to it with enough creativity and sensibility to make it worthwhile. Hopefully, The Incident will continue the band’s string of increasingly successful albums. If all mainstream rock music were like this, we’d be living in a glorious age. Tell your friends about Porcupine Tree. Hell, tell your enemies.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]