Also previously released as a single, ‘Of the New Day’ is a grower – a melodic, dark and heavy ballad that will keep you indoors and listening. The ‘In Session’ video of the song shows a band in tight creative unison, and while Wilson sings and plays all the guitars, the keys and drums integrally hold it all together. Second track ‘Of the New Day’ shows the band’s intent to adhere to its much-adored tradition of mood disparity and variation. I guess this is what is called ‘chemistry.’ The song is edgy, aggressive, melodic and powerful beyond description. His drumming quite clearly impacts the very composition of the songs he plays on, and this is an excellent example of that phenomenon. All this variation is brought together and made into a cohesive whole by Harrison’s contribution, which is much greater than just the provision of percussion. It is a near-perfect melding of Wilson’s metallic guitar stabs and wailing vocals, accompanied by Barbieri’s levitating atmospherics. By now well known to the fan-base, ‘Harridan’ presents yet another stand-out Gavin Harrison master-class, as do so many other songs in the band’s vast catalogue. The track is reminiscent of the band’s halcyon harder-edged middle era, circa ‘Deadwing,’ and is a more than suitable curtain raiser. The aforementioned ‘Harridan’ kicks the album off in typically frantic fashion, presciently and quite tellingly beginning with a Steven Wilson bass riff. The album itself was delivered by the three core members. The touring line-up will include excellent all-rounder Randy McStine and Devin Townsend’s highly accomplished bassist, Nate Navarro. But the fact remains that fans are, at time of writing, still awaiting some sort of explanation regarding Edwin’s omission. Some might say that the difference is marginal (an open question) and that the band’s excellence continues to abide, which is absolutely true. Speculation on that matter would be pointless, suffice it to state that Edwin’s absence has certainly affected the band’s overall sound. The speculation immediately became expectation with the announcement of the band’s eleventh studio album ‘Closure/Continuation,’ scheduled for release in June 2022.ĭespite the reconvening of long-standing members Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison and Richard Barbieri, bassist Colin Edwin has mysteriously not rejoined. That speculation was ended in 2021 when, with almost alarming suddenness, a new single entitled ’Harridan’ was released. Since the release of 2009’s ‘The Incident’, there has been more or less perpetual speculation in the Prog community as to whether Porcupine Tree would reunite. It is the best therapy that any musical schizophrenic could want – both obsessive and compulsive at the same time, you might say. But despite all the contrast, variation and experimentation, there is one word that has been the band’s hallmark from the beginning, and that word is ‘excellence.’ From the groundbreaking album ‘In Absentia’ to the band’s legendary October 2010 performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, paramount musical quality has been Porcupine Tree’s consistent mantra for over thirty years. From the once (but no longer) joke name of the band to the varied and often polarized nature of the music, the word ‘dichotomy’ may as well be Porcupine Tree’s middle name. There are even fewer that are as mysterious and multi-faceted, even in the enigma that is Progressive Rock. There are few bands as influential as Porcupine Tree.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |