Admittedly, Porcupine Tree's first album is pretty weird. At this point the band was pretty much just Steven Wilson in the persona of a mythical '70s prog rock band and this album is a compilation of the "band"'s early demos. It's highly experimental and isn't always as beautiful as later albums--"Linton Samuel Dawson" appears to have been sung in a room full of helium and tracks like "Space Transmission" and "Message from a Self-Destructing Turnip" feel more like jokes than music. But at the same time there are some enjoyable songs unlike anything on later albums where the band had settled on a genre, like the upbeat "Jupiter Island" or "Third Eye Surfer" which is basically a drum solo. Meanwhile other tracks like "Music for the Head", "Radioactive Toy", or "It Will Rain for a Million Years" hint at PT's upcoming spacey style. This album is interesting, but mostly worth checking out only if you already love Porcupine Tree.
On their second album Porcupine Tree takes a big step from their experimental early work to the spacey, psychedelic rock that characterized their earlier career. It's floaty, expansive, and yet often punctuated by loud sections--great use of dynamic range. This is exemplified by "Aways Never", the epic title track, and "Burning Sky". Meanwhile "Small Fish" and "Synesthesia" are more standard, medium-paced prog rock songs and "Not Beautiful Anymore" continues their habit of working interesting audio samples in with the music. Recommended largely for the amazing title track.
Six songs, 65 minutes. Both parts of the title suite and "Moonloop" are psychedelic rock masterpieces in excess of 16 minutes; the other three songs, which would be good on other albums, seem like filler by comparison. "Dislocated Day" is the obligatory louder song. I haven't listened to this album as much as I should, but it's good.
Signify is pretty much the height of Porcupine Tree's psychedelic period. It has soothing, confusing, meandering, crazy pieces like "Signify" and "Waiting Phase Two", amazing ambient songs "Pagan" and "Light Mass Prayers", and several brilliant sample-containing songs like "Sever", "Idiot Prayer", and "Intermediate Jesus". The finale, "Dark Matter", is one of my favorite epics of theirs, mellow yet intense, dark yet accessible. The deluxe edition of the album has a second CD with more goodness and early versions of some of the songs. The wealth of great material might have to do with how this was the first one recorded with a full band. I cannot get enough of this album, and it's only my third favorite of theirs.Modern music you hear on the radio cannot compare.
Metanoia isn't technically a studio album, just a compilation of ambient improvisations from the exceedingly fruitful Signify sessions. If you checked out Signify as recommended and liked the more ambient parts, by all means, look into Metanoia.
In Stupid Dream Porcupine Tree begins to transition away from their early psychedelic style to the more acoustic, alternative rock-influenced style of their middle years. They're at their most accessible during this album and the next two, but they by no means "sell out" or water down the complexity of their unique style for the masses. Stupid Dream is enjoyable the first time, but like all good albums it keeps getting better, rewarding each successive listen. I don't really have any favorites on this album, but check out "Don't Hate Me" or "Even Less" for an idea.
Ah, Lightbulb Sun. The height of PT's poppy, acoustic period. A beautiful, emotional, intricate album with lyrical themes centering around loss. Covered in quite a bit more detail in one of my early posts. If you don't feel like reading all that, check out the title track, "Four Chords that Made a Million", epic "Russia on Ice", or subdued final song "Feel So Low". But seriously, the whole album is indescribable.
In Absentia is the beginning of PT's journey to their current, metal-influenced home. Still plenty of spacey, acoustic beauty on this album (see "Blackest Eyes", "Trains", "Heartattack in a Layby", and "Collapse the Light into Earth"), but also some increasingly intense songs like instrumental "Wedding Nails", "The Creator Has a Mastertape", and "Strip the Soul". All around a very solid, well-balanced album and the one I'd recommend right after Lightbulb Sun.
Another PT album I haven't listened to nearly enough. Some songs like "Deadwing", "Halo", and "Mellotron Scratch" resemble a louder, slightly angrier old Porcupine Tree. Others like "Shallow", "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here", and "Open Car" are something else entirely. Their modern style is definitely shining through here.
I haven't listened to this one quite enough either. PT keeps its new metallic edge here, but tempers it considerably for quieter tracks like "My Ashes" and "Sentimental". "Fear of a Blank Planet" combines the free-roaming musical energy of Signify with a very modern sound, and "Anesthetize", their longest song since The Sky Moves Sideways, defies description. Overall a fascinating blend of the familiar and the new.
Porcupine Tree's latest release is possibly their most experimental (among their full-length albums) since their first. The entire first disc runs together into one 55-minute song, with four unrelated tracks on the second. I suspect that The Incident might be the start of their move to a new, completely unique genre invented by them. At times it's dark, heavy, and brooding, other times light-hearted and thoughtful. Some songs, particularly resident epic "Time Flies", are just about everything. Highly recommended for one and all.
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