STUPID DREAM

As Steven Wilson explains it in interviews, Stupid Dream (and its sister album Lightbulb Sun) saw him focusing more on composing traditional songs as opposed to the extended proggy soundscapes Porcupine Tree were more known for at this point. In many respects, it parallels the departure Marillion took at around this time with Radiation, with both bands writing more conventional songs influenced by the art rock approach of Radiohead and by more retro influences. (Here, I detected the influence of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young as opposed to the Beatles - particularly in the vocal harmonies.)

However, I think Porcupine Tree do a better job at taking on these influences and integrating them into their spacey sound so that the resultant album is something that's much easier for their existing fans to enjoy (as compared to Radiation, which many Marillion fans consider to be a rather weak effort). It helps that despite all the indie rock influence in evidence, the album leads off with the decidedly prog-oriented and rather Floydian Even Less, and regularly alternates between the more ethereal realms of prior Tree efforts and the indie-art rock territory the band were moving to explore. On the whole, this phase of Porcupine Tree would prove to be brief - encompassing just this album, Lightbulb Sun, and the Recordings compilation of off- cuts from both - but a very rewarding one nonetheless.