(Artwork care of Karen Ramsay (www.karenramsay.com), profile photo care of brianlackeyphotography.com)

Friday, January 9, 2009

CD Review - Porcupine Tree, Stupid Dream

First of all, I have to thank my pal Tommy for turning me on to Porcupine Tree. They are a modern prog-rock outfit out of England. Sometimes, they drift to a dreamy Pink Floyd-ish psychedelic groove, other times they shake out metal and grind. I'm not a huge metal head, but Steven Wilson has such a strong creative voice and his melodies are compelling. I've mentioned Floyd (especially Gilmour), but these guys also have a touch of old Genesis...still, they don't sound dated or stale.

Stupid Dreams is pretty much like they're more recent stuff, even though it's from 1999. A little more song oriented than their earlier albums. Tommy loaned this to me and I'll definitely be buying a copy. Most of the songs have a smooth wall of chorused/reverbed out guitar and big chorused vocals. Some songs, like Slave Called Shiver blend more into a driving funky groove. Another favorite cut is Tinto Brass, which starts out with a sound collage and evolves into a jazzy Martin Denny feel...or is it Gil Scott-Heron? And then we're mutating into a thrashy industrial feel.


Hmm...Espresso, maybe? Dry Irish Stout, instead? Crystal clear cold day or impending storm.

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