SELLING INSINCERITY

4.5 stars. I guess it was a year or so ago I first heard of this band, so I checked out their "MySpace" page and was promptly amazed at how much they sounded like PORCUPINE TREE. I asked my daughter who is a huge PT fan to check out the song I was listenening to but she wasn't amused. When I finally got "Selling Insincerity" I asked her she wanted to borrow it but she politely declined. This is an album that seems to polarise PORCUPINE TREE fans, those who dismiss them as a clone band and those like me who are blown away at how good this music sounds. One thing i've noticed though is that even those who aren't happy about this record sounding like PT have to admit it's an incredible album to listen to. This record is quite heavy at times and really has that "In Absentia" / "Deadwing" flavour to it. I should mention as well that Joshua the singer and lead guitarist has vocals that are very similar to Steven Wilson although he lists Chris Corner from the SNEAKER PIMPS as his biggest influence vocally.They do thank Steven "Frowns-a-lot" Wilson in the liner notes. Haha.

"Mazurka" is the 1 minute intro before we get to "Close" one of the best tracks on here. Here we go ! Crushing guitar intro as heavy drums and bass pound their way in. Love the synths in the background.This is amazing ! It settles and vocals come in.This sounds so good.The contrasts continue. A calm 3 1/2 minutes in before it slowly starts to build to the heaviest riffs yet. Great tune ! "Waiting Room" opens with spacey synths and guitar before it gets fuller with the guitar leading the way. Vocals join in while synths continue with prominant drums. Piano comes in before 2 minutes and comes and goes. Nice guitar solo after 3 minutes. Another great song. "Love Sounds" opens with synths as piano and drums joins in. Vocals before a minute.The vocals and drumming start to dominate.Tasteful guitar 4 minutes in. It kicks into a higher gear with heavy drums and bass after 4 1/2 minutes.The guitar starts to rip it up before 5 1/2 minutes and a wall of sound follows. Killer sound !

"Sellout" opens with crunchy riffs before it settles and these soft STONE ROSES-like vocals take over.This contrast continues. Check out the bass before 2 minutes ! It gets pretty heavy-duty here and later on. "Dead Peoples Review" opens heavily and I like the keys that come in then the tempo picks up. It quickly settles with vocals.This is so good. Can't help but smile about this feel good tune. Some processed vocals and piano before 2 minutes. "Monochrome" has this mellow intro before the guitar simply soars. Gorgeous.The drums are steady as the vocals come in. Excellent guitar 3 minutes in. Like the previous track this one makes me happy.

"Windows" opens with strummed guitar and synths. Drums and vocals follow. Some harmonies in this one too. This is the third track in a row that sounds amazing and isn't heavy. That all changes with the next one called "Cerulean Blue". This would have fit well on the "Deadwing" album. Heavy bass and drums with lots of synths on this one.The processed vocals are deep and from the pit. Haha. Check out the guitar a minute in. Huge bass after 4 minutes, an all out assault follows. Back to those fat bass lines before it kicks back in. Spacey after 5 minutes then all hell breaks loose ! "Seeping" has this circus-like rhythm as vocals come in. Love when it stops and Joshua sings with more passion. Contrasts continue until it changes after 2 minutes with strummed guitar, bass and drums. It turns crushingly heavy before 4 minutes. Nice. "Mother May I ?" is spacey with keys to open. Heavy bass and drums as vocals arrive. A powerful chorus on this one. They kick ass before 4 minutes. I like the guitar that follows.

I have zero complaints about the music here, it fits my tastes perfectly. I understand their new one is coming out shortly, it would be nice if they start to find more of their own sound, but if they don't i'm not going to complain.

Abigail's Ghost ? Selling Insincerity 4 stars

Glad to see this band make it to the archives.

Been following them ever since the debut, recommended to me for being a huge Porcupine Tree fan, but the similarities aren't as big as people make them out to be. Similar band set up it may be, but the melodies were very original and the vocals were also quite unique. If I could compare the specific album by Porcupine Tree it relates to would be In Absentia. The album mixes up well with heavy and clean songs and heavy/clean passages within the songs without anything sounding forced. There are some nice keys and sampling throughout establishing some great mood here on the album. Also, expect some great guitar solos in a few places which are far more virtuostic than PT ones, and they are just as tasteful.

What this album really excels in, is the melodies. Recommended for fans of Porcupine Tree, but they will find this to rank up there with anything PT has done.

Weird. Hear Porcupine Tree without Steven Wilson. I know that he doesn't trademarked all sounds which (well, bad choice of words and I'm aware of it) sounds like it. But it does and there is nothing to do about it. I'm really sorry to say that, it's not much professional and fair, but it's not bad for rating of album. Instead, this is where I always wanted PT to be.

Maybe this comparison can be to its good. This stays by these sounds I like, dream like synths (and light instruments), also dream-like voice + hard instruments, guitar at times. Of course, that's it. Guitars are the key to this mystery. Sometimes similar, but mostly different. In fact (I always forget), after many listens, you'll learn how to see these non PT traits.

4(+) with hope I'll give this 5 stars after more listens.

It's very Porcupine Tree

It's hard to deny that this album is very enjoyable not only to those who get used to prog music but I believe those who like music in general would feel the same too. The fact is that the music in general is quite easy to digest and most of them are in upbeat mode or at least in a predictable direction. Yes, it's basically straight forward in terms of composition, you hardly find any curved segments that deviate from its tagline melody.

You might find boringness with this album if you are updated to prog music with bands like Porcupine Tree, Pineapple Thief or RPWL as they are alike in terms of style. In terms of proximity this debut by Abigail's Ghost is quite close with Porcupine Tree. Not only the music, but the vocal characteristics of Josua Theriot is in the vein of Steven Wilson. Musically, this one from Abigail's Ghost is less complex and less exploration than Porcupine Tree. That suffices to say that this album is more digest-able.

I have listened to this album in its entirety more than 10 spins and there was time when I got bored with the music as it's quite easy to predict. Maybe because I have been listening a lot of Porcupine Tree albums, sometimes when Iistened to this album I felt like saying "Enough man ...enough ..!!" In relation the music style. If there has been nothing we know about Porcupine Tree, the feeling is of course different.

The opening track "Mazurka" (1:04) is basically a tone setter that establishes the ambient of the music the album contains. It moves beautifully with an upbeat "Close" (5:48) where you get the Porcupine Tree nuances for the first time. You must enjoy this straight forward track and also the coming "Waiting Room" (please do not expect this as something horror like you find in Genesis "The Lamb" album) (4:38).

"Love Sounds" (6:48) elevates the tone in such a way that this is gonna be the masterpiece track of this debut. It starts with something ambient using keyboard and soun effects in Peter Gabriel's style. When the vocal enters, it's really a Porcupine Tree music style. You might enjoy the vocal harmony. But the peak might be when the music changes it style into upbeat one when the vocal line ends, continued with tight basslines and drumwork. Well, I also enjoy the guitar solo before this transition that happens at minute 4:33. The guitar solo that overlays this piece reminds me to Porcupine Tree, really!

"Sellout" (4:18) starts with heavy riffs followed with music in upbeat tempo. "Dead Peoples Review" (4:45) is a follow-up of previous track with speedier tempo. "Monochrome" (5:03) is a mellow track with good melody and 'easy to digest' composition.

"Windows" (4:42) starts with acoustic guitar rhythm section which brings the music in a pop outfit with nice basslines. "Cerulean Blue" (7:44) is an upbeat music in Porcupine Tree style. The two concluding tracks are very good as well, I.e. " Seeping" (5:54 and "Mother May I" (5:42).

Conclusion

Overall, it's a very good album especially for those who are quite new to prog music. For those who has been proggin' for quite a long time might get bored with this Porcupine Tree like music. It's basically like you are listening to everything like Dream Theater, and so many bands that follow Dream Theater in progmet scene. Enough is enough .... Keep on proggin' ...!!!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

There's something that intrigues me about heavy, dark, atmospheric rock bands that play short but compelling songs. Abigail's Ghost is one such band that I took an interest to from the beginning. Right from the get go, "Close" starts off with a stutter-step waltz in six before the lead singer Joshua Theriot leads into a somewhat catchy chorus. Only thing that stands out immediately is that the quality isn't quite up to par.

"Waiting Room" cures that by echoing Porcupine Tree by adding a slight bit of weight thanks to their heavier guitars. I love the guitar solo in there, as well. It takes what normally is a dreary shoegaze-like genre and adds a bit of color and life. Not so much that it completely changes the texture of the piece, but enough to brighten the mood a bit. One of my favorites.

Of course, that goes right out the window with "Love Sounds", a slow, heavy electronics based piece with vocals draped over top. Definitely something you'd hear in the intro sequence of a popular crime drama, I'm sure of it. And yet the band changes right on a dime with "Sellout", guitars blazing hot with the heavy effigies of anvils and blazing fire, interlocking nicely with the smoother, more laid back guitar sounds (a la Porcupine Tree). And in fact, it's more of the same in "Dead People's Review". The album now is starting to sound like a Porcupine Tree radio edit. Which isn't bad. I just wish there was just a few more unique touches. The guitar solos help nicely, but it just doesn't help the beginning or end of the songs.

It's not really until you get to "Windows" that you get another bright spark on the album. And yet you finish the song feeling like you've heard it before. Because you probably have.

Thankfully, with "Cerulean Blue", all is well. Immediately heavy guitars in a brutal, fast tempo are interlocked with stop-and-go electronic sounds, fantastic bass work, and utterly time- perfected drumming (excellent double-bass pedal work here). Finally, these great musicians get to strut their stuff. An excellent little solo occurs six minutes in, an excellent little instrumental showcase to try and put these guys on the map.

"Seeping" is another one that stands out a bit. Lush synths backing up another excellent piece of drumming, beautiful acoustic licks and frankly wonderful lyrical work make this another one of the rare standouts here. Same with "Mother May I?" which sounds like a bastard stepchild of Porcupine Tree and Tool after a busy Friday night at a bar.

VERDICT: This is tough, because while the band puts together an outstanding first effort, it's quite overshadowed by the fact that it's a sound that's broadly similar to the likes of Porcupine Tree, Riverside and Oceansize, among countless others. If it's right up your alley, then, have at it. You won't be disappointed. But if you're not a fan of the dark and heavy side of prog, perhaps you should look elsewhere. Or, perhaps you should take a look at their second album...

FAVORITES: Waiting Room, Cerulean Blue, Mother May I?