IN ABSENTIA

This album was my first by Porcupine Tree. I was introduced to this band by AOL's progressive internet radio station. I ordered it from BMG's music club as one of my intro selections. I'm sure many of you diehard prog fans know these clubs are mostly a waste of time. They tend to have mostly stuff you already have and few things you want to get.

When I first listened to this CD I became hooked on the band and promptly raided as much of their back catalog as I could get my hands on. Unfortunately in 2004 there was a lot of stuff out of print. But I like everything I've been able to lay my hands on.

The first thing that impressed me was the CD booklet. It looks like some effort was spent on the art work. Of course, cool album art does not in and of itself enhance an album, there has to be substance in the music. My first musical impression was that the gunk gunk gunk, etc. heavy metal guitar bits were odd but interesting. There's also some Crosby, Stills, and Nash like vocals here and there. But the predominant sound I was hearing was progressive. It has a nice complexity and still retains a nice level of accessibility. (Not that I've been one to shy away from difficult listening music).

The music and the musicianship was solid. The danger in becoming in a Porcupine Tree fan is that Steven Wilson is rather prolific. After you collect all the PT releases, there's an even more massive collection of other projects he's done.

No point in doing a track by track here, 233 ratings and a smaller s-load of reviews. If you're a big fan of the "old school" prog, you're depriving yourself if you don't check the guys out. My favorite lyric on the album is "One of the wonders of the world is going down." Just because I have a dirty mind.