Much has been made of the song-cycle approach of disc 1 (The Incident), and how SW wanted the album to be treated as a
whole. It certainly pays off listening to Disc 1 in isolation, and in order, but some tracks do stand out in
isolation, especially “The Blind House” and the two most melancholic tracks on the album, Kneel and Disconnect and I
Drive the Hearse.
Kneel and Disconnect is a gentle piano and guitar driven piece, that seems to be refer to the younger Wilson leaving
his steady job and dedicating his life to music.
I Drive the Hearse has already become one of my favourite Porcupine Tree tracks. There is a real pastoral feel to
this track, with some beautiful layered synths and mellotron from Richard Barbieri.
“You were always my mistake”
As a long-standing Porcupine Tree fan, this, to me, is the album where SW has really found his voice – the chorus of
The Blind House and the delicious close-knit harmonies on Kneel and Disconnect contain the most accomplished vocals
I’ve heard on a PT song so far.
Some sections repeat throughout The Incident, with recycled musical motifs and repeated or similar lyrics in a couple
of songs, but this is not laziness, rather a way of joining all the songs together to make one song cycle, especially
as there is no clear concept to the album.
Nods to SW’s childhood and musical upbringing, especially in “Time Flies” (Beatles, Hendrix & Pink Floyd references,
both lyrical and musical). Great Expectations was mentioned in an online interview as referencing a childhood friend
whose life followed a troubled path.
“Hey there’s you, with placid eyes
Oblivious to what’s to come”
Drawing the Line features a haunting sample and an uplifting radio-friendly chorus that will surely work wonders live.
“Recording all my problems onto memory cards”
The Incident is inspired lyrically by a fatal road traffic accident that was described by a police sign as an
“incident”. Musically it’s far removed from any other Porcupine Tree song, and maybe owes a sonic debt to Trent
Reznor, or Berlin era Bowie.
Time Flies was made available as an edit in Classic Rock magazine prior to the album’s release, and if you read fan
feedback on the various Tree forums, wasn’t universally accepted. The version on the album that weighs in at a
healthy 11 minutes 41 seconds is the real deal though, and it feels like the centre-piece of “The Incident”, lifting
the mood after the darkness of the 8 tracks that preceded it. Now this IS what I would refer to as Classic Rock.
Octane Twisted is a slow-burner that reveals its charms after repeated listening, and will surely appeal to new fans
that the band picked up from Deadwing onwards.
The Incident was clearly made to be listened to in isolation (you wouldn’t read a book or watch a film whilst checking
your Facebook messages so why do this with music) and it does sound amazing in 5.1, but by the same token over time I
think I will add key tracks to my ipod playlist (no, this is simply verbotten in PT Land!).
I must admit to being disappointed with Disc 2, as the songs just aren’t as strong as those on the main disc. Maybe
its me, but Flicker is a bit too PT by numbers for me. Black Dahlia is the strongest track of the 4, and the only
track from Disc 2 that I play regularly. Remember Me Lover seems to be lacking the magic of the tracks on the main
Incident disc, and whilst its probably a good song to hear live, I don’t choose to play it often. I think Disc 2
suffers in comparison to the quality of the main part of the album.
The limited edition special edition of the album (the most expensive album, by far, that I have ever bought, so my
credit card statement regularly tells me!) comes with the 2 disc CD of “The Incident” plus a stunning 5.1 mix on DVD,
and a 116 page hardback book that includes lyrics and Lasse Hoile photography, and a 48 page softback of drawings
inspired by the album by Hajo Mueller. Carl Glover, who produces the excellent artwork for no-man, is responsible for
the graphic design.
Tracklisting: CD1 – The Incident: Occam’s Razor / The Blind House / Great Expectations / Kneel and Disconnect /
Drawing the Line / The Incident / Your Unpleasant Family / The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train / Times Flies /
Degree Zero of Liberty / Octane Twisted / The Seance / Circle of Manias / I Drive the Hearse
CD2: Flicker / Bonnie the Cat / Black Dahlia / Remember Me Lover
Much has been made of the song-cycle approach of disc 1 of Porcupine Tree’s new album, The Incident, and how Steven Wilson wanted the album to be treated as a whole.
It certainly pays off listening to Disc 1 in isolation, and in order, but some tracks do stand out in as songs you could listen to on their own, especially The Blind House and the two most melancholic tracks on the album, Kneel and Disconnect and I Drive the Hearse.
Kneel and Disconnect is a gentle piano and guitar driven piece, that seems to refer to the younger Wilson leaving his steady job and choosing music as his full-time career.
I Drive the Hearse has already become one of my favourite Porcupine Tree tracks. There is a real pastoral feel to this track, with some beautiful layered synths and mellotron from Richard Barbieri.
“You were always my mistake”
As a long-standing Porcupine Tree fan, it feels as if this is the album where SW has really found his voice – the chorus of The Blind House is supremely confident and the close-knit harmonies on Kneel and Disconnect totally hit the mark.
Some sections repeat throughout The Incident, with a couple of recycled musical motifs and repeated or similar lyrics in a couple of songs, but this is not laziness, rather a way of joining the pieces together to make one complete song cycle, especially as there is no apparent over-arching lyrical theme to the album.
The are references to SW’s childhood and musical upbringing throughout the album, but especially in Time Flies (The Beatles & Hendrix mentions in the tracks lyrics and the Pink Floyd musical allusion). Great Expectations was mentioned in an online interview as referencing a childhood friend whose life followed a troubled path.
“Hey there’s you, with placid eyes
Oblivious to what’s to come”
Drawing the Line features a haunting sample and an uplifting radio-friendly chorus that will surely work wonders live.
“Recording all my problems onto memory cards”
The lyrics to the title track of The Incident were apparently inspired by a fatal road traffic accident that was described by a police sign as an “incident”, which is a cold, impersonal way of describing something so damaging and catastrophic. Musically the track is far removed from any other Porcupine Tree song, and maybe owes a sonic debt to Trent Reznor via Berlin era Bowie.
Time Flies was made available as an edit in Classic Rock magazine prior to the album’s release, and if you read fan feedback on the various PT forums, wasn’t universally accepted. The version on the album that weighs in at a healthy 11 minutes and 41 seconds is the real deal though, and it feels like the centre-piece of the album, lifting the mood after the darkness of the 8 tracks that preceded it. Now this IS what I would refer to as Classic Rock.
Octane Twisted darkens the mood again, and reveals its charms after repeated listening, and is one that will surely appeal to new fans that the band picked up from Deadwing onwards.
The Incident was clearly made to be listened to in isolation (you wouldn’t read a book or watch a film whilst checking your Facebook messages so why do this with music) and in the order it was sequenced, and it does sound amazing in 5.1, but over time I think I will add key tracks to my ipod playlist (no, this is simply verbotten in PT Land, what am I saying, forgive me!)
I must admit to being disappointed with Disc 2, as the songs just aren’t as strong as those on the main disc. Maybe its me, but Flicker is a bit too PT by numbers for me. Black Dahlia is the strongest track of the 4, and the only track from Disc 2 that I return to regularly. Remember Me Lover seems to be lacking the magic of the tracks on the main disc, and whilst its probably a good song to hear live, I don’t choose to play it often. I think Disc 2 suffers in comparison to the quality of the main part of the album. But this is only a minor criticism, as this album is slowly becoming one of my favourites from the band.
The limited edition special edition of the album (the most expensive album, by far, that I have ever bought, so my credit card statement regularly tells me!) comes with the 2 disc CD of The Incident plus a stunning 5.1 mix on DVD, and a 116 page hardback book that includes lyrics and Lasse Hoile photography, and a 48 page softback book of drawings inspired by the album by Hajo Mueller. Carl Glover, who produces the excellent artwork for no-man, is responsible for the graphic design.
Tracklisting: CD1 – The Incident: Occam’s Razor / The Blind House /
Great Expectations / Kneel and Disconnect / Drawing the Line / The Incident / Your Unpleasant Family / The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train / Times Flies / Degree Zero of Liberty / Octane Twisted / The Seance / Circle of Manias / I Drive the Hearse
CD2: Flicker / Bonnie the Cat / Black Dahlia / Remember Me Lover
Lyrics quoted © Porcupine Tree
Roadrunner Records B002GZQY6Q Release Date 14th Sep 2009
Porcupine Tree website
Buy The Incident on Amazon UK
Buy The Incident on Amazon US
The Courage of Others is Midlakes third, and finest album, and is the follow-up to 2006’s The Trials of Van Occupanther. Released on former Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde‘s Bella Union label (which is also the home of Fleet Foxes & The Dears), the album has received mixed write-ups on Amazon, with some listeners complaining about the lack of variety and pace, and how there are no tracks as instantly compelling as Roscoe or Head Home.
The song is the first in a trilogy of the albums strongest songs. Children Of The Grounds is one of the few mostly electric songs on the album.
Released in 2008, but only noticed by me in 2009, so included here, the album Rook from Texan band Shearwater is a delicate collection of songs driven by rich strings and piano mixed with acoustic guitars and lots of references to birds (band member Jonathan Meiburg is a graduate student in ornithology).
Again, a 2008 release, but one I stumbled across in 2009 thanks to the wonders of Youtube. I was aware of Butch Walker’s previous band, Marvellous 3, due to the power-pop anthem from 1999, Freak of the Week (a fair-sized hit in the US that I heard when on holiday in Florida).
The part Swedish, part US band Miike Snow have released one album to date, and a clutch of classic singles. For the fact-fiends reading this blog, the Swedish contingent in the band were responsible for the Grammy winning Toxic by Britney Spears.
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 