Store Date : 14-09-2009
Release Date : 07-09-2009
Runtime : 75:52
Disc 1
1. The Incident
2. I - Occam's Razor
3. II - The Blind House
4. III - Great Expectations
5. IV - Kneel And Disconnect
6. V - Drawing The Line
7. VI - The Incident
8. VII - Your Unpleasant Family
9. VIII - The Yellow Windows Of The Evening Train
10. IX - Time Flies
11. X - Degree Zero Of Liberty
12. XI - Octane Twisted
13. XII - The SΘance
14. XIII - Circle Of Manias
15. XIV.I Drive The Hearse
Disc 2
1. Flicker
2. Bonnie The Cat
3. Black Dahlia
4. Remember Me Lover
Notes: Wrong ver of Lame used last time. Sorry.
Greets to sentient, garrafk, doopes, timmyh0 and the rest of the
crew
Porcupine Tree has always been about exploring the resonance and
echoes found within Steven WilsonÆs subconscious. After witnessing
a road accident, Wilson was prompted to construct an ambitious
song-cycle exploring the numerous associations which this initial
incident triggered.
Sewn together into one continuous 55 minute stream the end result
is a series of multi-layered perspectives which spiral beyond the
inciting event into a dark kaleidoscope encompassing bogus gurus,
break-ups, betrayals, and all manner of bad blood.
WilsonÆs avowedly melancholic outlook finds an unsettling shape
in the dreadnought thump of OccamÆs Razor, a grandly belligerent
entrance clearing the air for the full-pelt salvo of The Blind
House, with its mobius-strip riffing.
Like In Absentia (2002) - which this new album seems to most
recall - or Fear of a Blank Planet (2007) there is placed the
apparently incongruous, competing elements jousting with each
other, a convergence of a surging, expertly-crafted melodicism
on the one hand and heavy flashes of eclectic electric guitar
heroism on the other.
Not for nothing does WilsonÆs writing switch between such influential
polarities when at the mid-point of the album he declares ôI was
born in Æ67, The year of Sergeant Pepper and Are you Experienced?ö
on across the staccato attack of Time Flies - easily the most
addictive track on the entire album.
Elsewhere, the explosive peaks of Great Expectations suggests the
opening bars of King CrimsonÆs Red maintains its reputation for
influence new generations of musicians.
Hidden in amongst the densely compacted guitars and pummelling rhythm
section of Colin Edwin (bass) and Gavin Harrison (drums), Richard
BarbieriÆs ethereal keyboards add a dignified colour to the violent
thrashing which often surrounds it. The Yellow Windows of the Evening
Train contains a haunted choir and woodwind-like section that Mark
Hollis and Talk Talk mightÆve imagined.
The end result of all this pondering perversely transcends the
gloom-laden gravity of its starting point. To infer hope from a
track called I Drive The Hearse seems counter-intuitive, but as
it slowly disappears, the sense of uplifting, welcome resolution
is tangible.
Four extra tracks not part of The Incident itself are housed on
an accompanying EP length album. Though well worthy, itÆs the main
event on disc one that holds the juice and demands repeated
attention.