DISSOLUTION

Here's a new chapter in the world of Pineapple Theif with an album that is co-written by Bruce and Gavin Harrison, the new member of the band. The album is more of a group effort then Bruce's music. The themes of the album are rather dark because it talks about the destruction of society through social media and technology as a new way to spread out violence. The music on this album is less electronic and metal than his previous material. While the acoustic side of the band has been always present, it has never been so obvious here. The melodies are gorgeous, and then the voice of Bruce never been so good. The album starts quietly but it takes a heavier note with the beautiful song "Threatening War". The sudden burst of guitar metal riffs in the Porcupine Tree style are almost gone here with some delicate melodies that takes a lot of acoustic sounds even with some delicate drums of Gavin. "All That You've Got" is a song that could be a single in the future. "Shed a Light" starts as an acoustic song and the rest is some improvisation from Gavin Harrison. "White Mist" is another good song that displays some nice guitar melodies with the addition of guitarist David Torn. My only criticism is on the more conventional style of music in the songs "Uncovering Your Tracks" and "Far Below" I recommend buying the special edition to hear the acoustic album with the songs running in a different order and with the guitar of Goerge Marios. But also to have both versions of the album in surround.

Bruce Sword and company have collected a very well-recorded and rendered group of more Indie or pop rock- oriented songs for this 2018 release. Nice contributions from Gavin Harrison and David Torn.

1. "Not Naming Any Names" (2:05) a brilliantly sedate and spacious opener with Bruce singing over piano in such a soft, emotional voice. A top three song for me. (4.5/5)

2. "Try As I Might" (4:26) clear, clean guitar-based rock with the always-welcome drumming of Gavin Harrison. There are several PT/Steven Wilson-like moments or nuances, but over all it's a very good song. Slide guitar used for the solo instrument in the "C" part. (8.5/10)

3. "Threatening War" (6:37) singing in a little higher register, Bruce leads us into another more delicate, sensitive story. He gets more aggressive as the music drops out and leaves only an acoustic guitar, but then the full band kicks in with a straightforward rocker for the chorus. The "C" part on this song is where everything interesting happens: guitar harmonics, subtle drumming flourishes, etc., but it's too short. Then it kicks back into the chorus section before finishing out with the final verse and chorus. (8.25/10)

4. "Uncovering Your Tracks" (4:29) interesting Peter Gabriel-like foundational weave sets up before Bruce sings in an almost-talking voice. The chorus is amped up by strumming acoustic guitars and a few electric guitar chords. This presence of a raunchy electric guitar gives the song a kind of Steven Wilson feel to it--especially as the vocal has gone this way--while the ensuing guitar also has a frenetic squeal tone not unlike upcoming song guest David Torn. Not enough variation and diversity to make this one really stand out. (8.5/10)

5. "All That You've Got" (3:27) rock 'n' roll with an indie feel. Indistinct and nondescript save for the awesome guitar solo in the third minute. (8.25/10)

6. "Far Below" (4:36) opens with a little "Thunder Island" feel--and this remains the dominant chord and guitar approach throughout this rockin' song. Unfortunately, it gets a little monotonous. (8/10)

7. "Pillar of Salt" (1:25) A non-descript song. Too bad I don't hear lyrics. (3.5/5)

8. "White Mist" (11:05) the length of this song allows for some nice sound experimentations from several contributors, David Torn being the primary source. Gavin's work is so solid, like the spine of a vertebrate. But the song never really digs in, never digs deep enough to engage me into a head-banging, foot-stomping, air-guitar strumming experience (though Harrison and Torn's interplay in the seventh and eighth minutes is pretty darn awesome!). After the 8:20 mark there is an awesome section of keys and drums before Bruce rejoins with his singing--which is then followed by some stunning guitar shredding by Torn. The second best song on the album. (8.75/10)

9. "Shed a Light" (5:20) sparse acoustic guitar play with delicate vocal opens this song. When the full band joins in it has a kind of twangy folk-pop sound to it not unlike a Ben Watt/Everything But The Girl song. Odd guitar strumming precedes a very cool heavier guitar and keyboard-based chord ascension before we mysteriously (and disappointingly) return to the sparse opening style and sound (with drums and simple bass). The wide and dramatic dynamic shifts of this song do make it interesting and the chord progressions and vocal melodies are the best on the album. (9/10)

Though Gavin Harrison's presence is heard, it's not really felt as none of these songs really explores or experiments much with standardized forms or sounds. This is a rock album; the band's least proggy album yet.

Four stars; a nice addition to any prog lover's music collection.

The hottest band on the market?

Yes.

Pineapple Thief grew a ton of hair since Gavin Harrison joined. No more peachfuzz, the music is now a muscular but very gracious adult. Like Porl Thomson, Dave Grohl or Ian Mosley , Harrison is now 'THE drummer' that elevated a band to something better, higher or steadier. Although he's never overdoing it, his mind-boggling beats (and melodies?) are giving the band an aura of true perfectionism, something sleek and chic, that elevates everything and making it classy.

The recipe is quite similar to their 'Wilderness' album, don't expect any changes: more imploding than Porcupine Tree but still rumbling with anger at times. I like when the band is leashing out crunchier moments, unfortunately rarer on this cookie. PTh is good at what Porcupine Tree started and perfected until The Incident (that sucked the big one). On the other side, PTh is giving you a good following to that pattern but only with more eerie/spooky factor perhaps? The more you listen, the more you realize you're facing an hybrid beast: half-past, half-future but completely charming.

Whatever floats your goat, Dissolution is giving you a great time, no doubt about it. Closer to a pop album than a prog, it's short, goes to the point and cut off all the baloney elements of longer albums (*ahem* Roine Stolt). Are you tired of interminable records of 74 minutes? I sure am. Something epurated like this album is oxygen for your brain and won't test your patience. If they keep up like that, they will give birth to a mammoth of good taste and self-mastery. They are THAT close.

Who said shorter albums are because of the lack of inspiration? Not this case here!

I think every band has its personal masterpiece. And Dissolution is The Pineaple Thief's one!

Your Wilderness was an excellent step forward for the band, and Gavig Harrison added just what they needed to expand their sound and scope. And Dissolution is even better. More focused, catchy and everything sounding just fine.

Is not a weak track to be found here, and Bruce Soord again demonstrates that he is one of the most interesting prog composers out there!

Best Tracks: all of them are good, but I personally find Try As I Might, All That You've Got and White Mist specially good.

My Rating: *****

The Pineapple Thief find themselves triumphant on their electrifying 2018 art rock achievement 'Dissolution', the band's twelfth studio album, released on Kscope. This exciting British band has been a synonym for quality in the last decade, becoming one of the most respected bands whose music gently crosses over alternative rock and progressive rock in a very contemporary and welcoming fashion, occasionally coming close to the sensibility and aura left by Porcupine Tree the previous decade, allowing a very fine touch of sentimentality to protrude their excellent music, it is 'Dissolution' that might confidently be regarded as the band's best effort so far.

Perhaps one will find the strengths of this record in the band's impressive ability to keep things compact, yet fully expressive in terms of songwriting - the masterful duo of the talents of Bruce Soord and Gavin Harrison graces the sonic portrait of 'Dissolution' with a tender maturity that can be experienced from the very first seconds of the opening track 'Not Naming Any Names'; the strong use of acoustic instruments will go on to mark this album as a very sheltering one. Great songs follow one after another with the melodic 'Try as I Might' coming next, or the cerebrally touching 'Threatening War', a Bruce Soord classic, elevated majestically by the fabulous drumming, the acoustic touch and the soft keyboard soundscapes. The album goes on in the same spirit, giving off the impression that you are immersed in one big continuous piece of music, the coherence of 'Dissolution' is absolutely astonishing; the great production also helps, with the gracious warmth of every nuance of each instrument caressing the listener's ears. It is tracks like 'All That You've Got', 'Far Below', or the grandiose 'White Mist', the 11-minute epic at the end of the record that add up to the unprecedented experience of submerging into the sensitive world that this LP proposes, excellent and flawless from beginning to end.

Certainly one of the highlights of the year and of the decade, this album by The Pineapple Thief is a very melancholic, beautifully-written piece of contemporary art rock, showcasing the talents of a band capable of creating something minimalistic, yet gorgeously warm and welcoming - a really great effort by Bruce Soord and co. that will go down in history as one of the tiny gems of the genre.

I feel like I may have binged a little bit too much on THE PINEAPPLE THIEF over the past year. I have spent a lot of time with their two latest studio albums which includes this one "Dissolution" from 2018 but also their two latest live albums which of course focus on those two studio albums. So I've heard these songs a lot but I still feel this is a very good album but not nearly as good as the previous record "Your Wilderness" or the live "Where We Stood" taken from that tour.

The highlight and a song I will not tire of is "White Mist" an 11 minute piece that features the talents of guitarist David Torn who I am such a major fan of. I would like to know how this connection happened but man this song is on another level. The other two tracks that stood out this time were "Threatening War" which I find moving and the lyrics so thoughtful. And there's some harmonies here which were all over "Your Wilderness" and that helped make that album special. "Far Below" for the guitar and electric piano. Some calms I like especially the spacey one late. "Uncovering your Tracks" kept getting stuck in my head at work and it opens surprisingly dark with depth. "Try As I Might" has some attitude on the verses and melancholy on the chorus. The album ends with a beautiful balled called "Shed a Light" that has a couple of powerful sections in it.

I honestly thought this would be better, kind of like the new PORCUPINE TREE but I'm still happy to own both. There's so much great music on these albums but they just aren't as consistent as I'd like.