SIGNIFY

I went through a phase of purchasing Porcupine Tree's output about half way through last year. I got 'The Sky Moves Sideways', having already had this on tape for a few years. This is the remastered version with the bonus disc. See my review for that album separately. I gave it five stars then, yet find it very hard to compare with this album, as the two are totally different. Sometimes you would think they were two separate bands! This one I will give four stars to, although, when the mood takes me, it could easily touch five. Again, I have the remastered version, complete with the bonus disc. The opener, 'Bornivedie', sets the disparate tone of the album, being a concoction of different sounds, with a female voice interspersed amongst it all. It is a very short piece, and serves mainly to lead into track two, 'Signify', an excellent, fast paced instrumental, keyboards and guitar dominated, with pulsing bass work and excellent percussion. I admire Chris Maitland tremendously. He seems to have the most input on the album, next to Stephen Wilson himself, of course. the third song, 'The Sleep Of No Dreaming' has interesting, typically Wilsonian lyrics, and is instrumentally superb. The quality of the production on this cd is wonderful. 'Pagan' is track 4, probably the least effective on the album, a short instrumental which serves as an appetiser to Tracks 5 & 6, 'Waiting Phase One' followed, funnily enough, by 'Waiting Phase Two!' The first part has lyrics, the second doesn't, but both halves are excellent, musically beautiful, with nice guitar work, (as one expects from Mr Wilson), and beautiful soundscapes provided by the keyboards. I also like Richard Barbieri's ability to create mood swings, song by song, and, indeed, within songs themselves. Next track, 'Sever', is another moody, melodic piece, with fractured lyrics. 'Idiot Prayer' is another wonderful instrumental, followed by track 9, 'Every Home Is Wired', a superb ballad with , what I would call, rainy day lyrics. 'Intermediate Jesus' is a long and sinuous instrumental, with excellently placed guitar parts, full of echos and memories. 'Light, Mass, Prayers' is a Maitland composition, evocative of monks at prayer, and very effective. Finally, 'Dark Matter' is an excellent way to end the album, starting with more melancholy lyrics, and then flowing into a superb guitar led instrumental. This ends the album, which, in itself, stands as a fine musical work. The bonus disc has differnt versions of 'Signify', 'Waiting' and 'Sever', plus other interesting bits, the best being 'Neural Rust', 'Dark Origins' and 'Smiling Not Smiling' Oh, and the excellent 'Nine Cats'. This second disk is just the icing on the cake, yet if it was the official album, instead of disc one, it would be just as effective and strong. There are still some Floydian influences here, but the Tree are going more their own way now. This is quite a bit better than 'In Absentia' which has a far more commercial, but not necessarily better sound. Highly recommended!