ABDUCTING THE UNICORN [AKA: ABDUCTED AT BIRTH]

The Pineapple Thief is a band I was kinda obsessed with back in early 2022, back before I listened to a lot more of this whole contemporary prog scene, aside from Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree. To me, they were, and always will be, this enigmatic band that seemed to try something new each album, kinda like King Crimson or Motorpsycho. The difference between them and Pineapple Thief is that Pineapple Thief were less changing things on a dime, and instead were evolving, with each album practically being a completely different band, not in just members, but in attitude and general scope. Now, as I say this, everything has a starting point, and that starting point for The Pineapple Thief is their debut of Abducting The Unicorn, or what some may also call, Abducted At Birth, which is the title I will be using for this review.

At this stage in the group's career, practically it is just guitarist and lead singer Bruce Soord, though with Nick Lang and Mark Harris as backup for drums, keyboards, and bass. Bruce is the main guy though, with his acoustic (sometimes electronic) guitar, being the mainstay on most, if not all tracks. The album in its entirety also is less progressive rock in all facets, and more like a mixture of Radiohead levels of alt rock, meets with light prog twiddlings here and there. Heck, the album does get a bit more proggy near the end with the big 18 minute epic of Parted Forever, which is a really nice song.

The best thing I can say about this album is, of course, Bruce's guitar work. He is not like Robert Fripp or Steven Wilson levels of greatness, but I definitely think he delivers really well here. He has a knack for energy and tempo, and he checks all the boxes for a great guitarist, creating these moving, and very vibrant melodies that never get tiring to listen to, no matter when or how.

I also like Nick's drummings here, as they mix quite well with the more alt rock focused textures, and they complement Bruce's guitars extra well in my opinion. Really nice stuff.

Though, there really isn't much that makes me want to return to this album all that much, aside from the two big songs of Private Paradise and Parted Forever, both of which are fantastic, as I said before. It is mainly because I feel like the more shorter, alt rock focused tracks here do not quite play into their strengths all that much, and they kinda feel a little cookie cutter to me. There is definitely nothing wrong with them, but they kinda feel average, with no big changes to the formula of 90s alt rock that bands like Muse or Radiohead have already perfected, with the only exception being No One Leaves This Earth and Everyone Must Perish, which feel like stuff from completely different bands than what The Pineapple Thief dishes out.

I also am not a fan of Mark Harris' bass. It is very quiet, and I never really notice it, mostly due to how muted it is compared to the very high quality volume levels of the guitar and drums. He feels like a missed potential to me.

Overall, Abducted At Birth is a great, but slightly bare bones release. It has its weak spots, I give it that, but I think overall it is a serviceable experience for some nice contemporary progressive rock that is akin to Porcupine Tree and Gazpacho. Give it a looksee if you are interested in what early Pineapple Thief may have.