THE DARK THIRD

Layers. Building blocks. Textures. A musical melting pot where all the instruments meld into one another to the point that each one can barely be picked out from the others by the discerning listener. And a pretty divisive album/band among critics so do your homework before jumping in.

The Dark Third was one of "those" albums. You know the ones where they are the hot new thing and get a lot of buzz and some early glowing reviews. The one where any self respecting prog-head has to rush to acquire it, lest they be shut out from this new found glory. I got swept up in the buzz and am now the proud owner of a three star album.

This is under crossover here on PA, but I think more space rock or psychedelic. People talk about Porcupine Tree and you do get some of that, but the vocals really differentiate this album form PT. Because on top of the amalgam of melodic noise that the instruments create, PRR goes about the business of vocal harmonization very seriously. Four of the six members are credited with singing and they all get their licks in. But again, it is hard to pick out who is who except the difference between male and female. The instruments all kind of blend together and out pops a melodic stream and then the vocals go on top and create a harmonic stream of their own. It can be quite enjoyable but there isn't a lot of variety so the songs start to all blend together as well. There is precious little in the way of guitar solos or keyboard leads and the production on the drums is weak. It will be interesting to see if the band decides to ride the positive feedback from this album and do more of the same in the future or take some of the constructive criticism and restructure how they go about making music. If there is not a conscientious move to something at least somewhat different, they are going to make the same album over and over.

After reading my review, you would think a three star rating is generous. While dissecting the album leaves it open to many potshots, the end product isn't half bad. Many of the melodies will get stuck in your head and there is talent on display here. They also offer something different from a lot of what I listen to. There is a lot of potential here to move on to greater things and I would think a two star rating is too low, so three it is.