Porcupine Tree "Deadwing" (Lava)
By Eric Chon
Friday. Jun 03, 2:21 AM
Letting the inner animal out.

Steven Wilson has made quite the name for himself as a prog rock pioneer. Porcupine Tree are known for complex compositions and haunting melodies, but rarely do they bring the rock, and that has always been my one beef. I can appreciate being moody and melodic, but some of his songs just scream for a little shred. 2002’s In Absentia had its hard and heavy moments, but they were few and far between.

Well, Deadwing brings the goods this time around. Here Steve lets his hair down a little bit and delivers the crunch on songs like “Shallow” and “Open Car.” And even if the other songs don’t rock out in their entirety, it gets nice and heavy at the right spots. Maybe producing the last few Opeth albums wormed its way into his brain, but he lets his distortion-prone inner child free, creating an incredibly flowing and uninhibited listening experience. Sometimes it’s good to let your inner animal out.

But with some songs stretched out to over 10 minutes in length, there’s plenty of time to cram the cerebral in with the primal. And while the completely indulgent songs are incredibly fun and exciting, it’s these combo-mash-ups that impress the most. It’s prog tempered with passion. This makes the few lighter, more atmospheric songs such as “Lazarus” stand out (it’s strange how an album can make each song stand out and yet work as a whole) and balance the entire package.

Deadwing is the direction I’d really like to see Steve pursue with Porcupine Tree. It’s innovative, brainy, passionate, and serene all at once. Like the song, this certainly is “The Start of Something Beautiful.”
www.porcupinetree.com
www.lavarecords.com

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Eric Chon

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