LIGHTBULB SUN

Also released in 2000 was the album Lightbulb Sun. Lightbulb Sun built off of and expanded on the sound of Stupid Dream. The title track opens the album and sets the tone for the rest of the record, with its smart contrasts of acoustic and distorted instrumentation and strong melodies.

"Four Chords That Made a Million", much like "Piano Lessons" or "Stranger by the Minute", is an inventive fusion of progressive ambition and pop-accessible hard rock. "Shesmovedon" takes those pop ideas and blends it with Steven Wilson's usual melancholy to make something slow-moving and impactful. "The Rest Will Flow" and "Feel So Low" show further mixtures of acoustic pop with progressive songwriting.

"Last Chance to Evacuate the Planet Earth before It Is Recycled" is another highlight. This track features folk flavors with acoustic guitar and banjo in its first third before veering off into cosmic territory. It contains audio from Marshall Applewhite, leader of the Heaven's Gate cult who committed suicide when the Hale-Bopp comet passed by earth.  This song takes many of Porcupine Tree's early instrumental tendencies and smartly shortens them into a three-minute package, rather than dragging on for six or seven.

The two longest tracks on this album hint at the band's future direction. "Hatesong" builds into something big and heavy. After starting off fairly quiet, with jazzy tones, lead guitar and distorted synthesizers come to snarl over crushing riffs. "Russia on Ice" is effectively two songs. The first seven minutes or so are restrained but incredibly oppressive. String arrangements are deployed to great effect, and the bitter lyrics complement the sparse severity of the music. The closing six minutes, meanwhile, features overt flirtations with metal. Beneath all the distortion and bombast, though, are flashes of funk, folk, and electronica.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/