Kurt's on vacation, so you get to read about some of the albums he's listening to in the car.
Porcupine Tree
In Absentia
Sitting somewhere between prog-rock and art-metal sits Porcupine Tree, an enigmatic British band who make long albums that aren't so much radio-friendly but are still laden with good, catchy music. They draw comparisons to Tool, which is how I heard about them. An acquaintance burned me a copy of it on "it's kind of like Tool, and you like Tool" grounds. I loved it and promptly purchased a legit copy. Funny how that music-sharing thing actually led to a sale that wouldn't have happened otherwise, isn't it? Okay, I'll stop editorializing.
In Absentia is atmospheric and big. The songs are more-or-less guitar driven, although you get some bass- and keyboard-heavy fare throughout. The album generally vacillates between up-tempo rockers and slower, more introspective lilting numbers. There's some playing-around-with of time signatures and lots of technically impressive musical feats (notably on the drums), but what the album really has going for it is solid song-writing, which thankfully strays out of the normal love-song routine.
Consider songs like The Sound of Muzak, a diatribe about the corporatization of the music industry whose chorus wails "One of the wonders of the world is going down". Or look at Heart Attack in a Layby, a sort of depressingly mellow song about having a heart attack. In a layby (that's a rest stop, for my fellow Americans).
The song I care for the least is, ironically, the single, Strip the Soul, which seems to be trying just a little too hard to shock without actually conveying much meaning.
Highlights: Trains is great, but my absolute favorite is the album closer, Collapse the Light into Earth which doesn't sound a whole lot like the rest of the disk, but it's a great listen.
Favorite lyric: "When I hear the engine pass I'm kissing you wide, the hissing subsides, I'm in luck." (from Trains)
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In Absentia
Sitting somewhere between prog-rock and art-metal sits Porcupine Tree, an enigmatic British band who make long albums that aren't so much radio-friendly but are still laden with good, catchy music. They draw comparisons to Tool, which is how I heard about them. An acquaintance burned me a copy of it on "it's kind of like Tool, and you like Tool" grounds. I loved it and promptly purchased a legit copy. Funny how that music-sharing thing actually led to a sale that wouldn't have happened otherwise, isn't it? Okay, I'll stop editorializing.
In Absentia is atmospheric and big. The songs are more-or-less guitar driven, although you get some bass- and keyboard-heavy fare throughout. The album generally vacillates between up-tempo rockers and slower, more introspective lilting numbers. There's some playing-around-with of time signatures and lots of technically impressive musical feats (notably on the drums), but what the album really has going for it is solid song-writing, which thankfully strays out of the normal love-song routine.
Consider songs like The Sound of Muzak, a diatribe about the corporatization of the music industry whose chorus wails "One of the wonders of the world is going down". Or look at Heart Attack in a Layby, a sort of depressingly mellow song about having a heart attack. In a layby (that's a rest stop, for my fellow Americans).
The song I care for the least is, ironically, the single, Strip the Soul, which seems to be trying just a little too hard to shock without actually conveying much meaning.
Highlights: Trains is great, but my absolute favorite is the album closer, Collapse the Light into Earth which doesn't sound a whole lot like the rest of the disk, but it's a great listen.
Favorite lyric: "When I hear the engine pass I'm kissing you wide, the hissing subsides, I'm in luck." (from Trains)
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