Porcupine Tree - Deadwing

Porcupine Tree has always surfed on the fringe of popularity by balancing on an ethereal fray of harmony-rich prog and razor sharp metal flare; which is a shame. I believe a band this talented deserves commercial success - complete with sold out areas and platinum record sales. Luckily, Deadwing continues to showcase their widely unnoticed musical chops with a tasty line-up of songs which undoubtedly combine to be Porcupine Tree’s best work to date as well as one of the strongest releases in years.

Steve Wilson’s delicate vocals and shining musical prowess once again allows the outing’s individual personalities to slink and slither into each other marvelously. On “Halo” he sings, “I'm not the same as you / 'Cause I've seen the light and I'm gaining in height now / I got a halo 'round me” in a fluttering tone that’s entirely fresh to these veteran ears. And “Glass Arm Shattering” almost demands that the listener closes his or her eyes and drift off to a better place as Wilson’s mellifluous lungs wash over superbly placed guitar licking rain drops and gorgeously soothing bass lines; collectively they cleanse your spirit of all the junk currently played on MTV.

Not since Pink Floyd has a band been able to compose such dreamy and intoxicating waves of artistic perfection. However, the true beauty found herein is the current line-up’s tactful range between aforementioned pillows of Floydian bliss and hard rocking intervals that don’t cheapen the overall and unified objective.

”Arriving Somewhere, But Not Here” delivers a 12 minute journey through a jungle of twinkling atmospheres which gradually build up and finally climax as they run headfirst into a midway riff that rocks so hard it’s as if the boys have dipped their pen in Black Sabbath’s vicious ink. “Open Car” follows in a similar vein of feisty riffs and intimidating vocal interludes which prove that the group’s skillful approach to songwriting will be difficult to match by fellow artists. And although the band has been around for quite a while, it appears that they’ve truly mastered the craft of what it means to create euphorically varied soundscapes ala Porcupine Tree.

Indeed, if (and that’s a strong if) the group has failed in the past, it’s been due to an absent solid crunch to really sink your teeth into. Thankfully, Wilson and the gang have triumphantly succeeded in that respect by delightfully grazing over an entire spectrum of musical shades and energetic gusto. It would be impossible to capture and express to you in mere words the diverse textures and sheer genius sprinkled all over this album; though it goes without saying… with Deadwing, Porcupine Tree has made a triumphant return to music with an intimidating and beautiful effort that is guaranteed to leave you begging for repeated listens.



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