ON THE SUNDAY OF LIFE...

I only picked up on Porcupine Tree two years ago or so, starting with "In Absentia" and "Under the Downstair". I was so impressed that in the intervening period I have subsequently bought all of the remaining studio albums. This is the most disappointing offering from the band, in my opinion, perhaps understandably so as it is the first album and is really a spruced-up collection of Steve Wilson's home recordings.

As such, it is an interesting album to have from the point of view of charting Steve Wilson's and the band's development but, from the absolute standpoint of a stand-alone album, it doesn't compare in terms of quality to subsequent offerings. It's not that it's bad, but it does lack the pace, energy and innovation of subsequent recordings, measured against which it feels insipid.

For completes fans only.