Seems a new sing is landing Monday, 2 teasers put up on socials last 2 days. This comes a few months after Porcupine 3 was listed as a company with Steven and Gavin listed, think Richard too (no Colin).
Steven had mentioned a guitar based project was in the works, along with something else. Would assume this to be the guitar based one anyway, he was very secretive on that one.
New album and tour as good as confirmed 😎
Well now. What do we have here...
Tour dates there, new song here: https://youtu.be/AW5v4Ohxk5k
Wow, had long since given up on Porcupine Tree ever releasing anything new.
Can't say the new song really grabs me tbh, may take a few listens.
Im the opposite - instant dopamine hit for me. Gavin's drumming, Richard's soundscapes ... PT are back. 😎 Now the panic starts on Weds morning's Pre-Sale for Berlin tix
Can't stop listening to this track. It's rare any song / album grabs my attention like this. Never thought PT would return.
Hope the bass playing (SW himself?) isn't this aggressive on the rest of the album though. Pity Colin isn't involved in this.
Wouldn't be surprised if that's Nick Beggs on bass.
So... Colin Edwin's not playing on the album and John Wesley has confirmed he won't be involved with the tour. Kinda dampens my excitement about the album / tour. Hope SW hasn't been a dick to the 2 lads by just not bothering to include them in the project.
The Bass sounds like it's played with a pick. Interested to see who the mystery Bassist is though the album credits SW as performing bass.
Tickets for the tour opener in Berlin secured 😎
I'd say Steven played bass on album, but obv won't live.
Hoping for 2nd London date to be announced, need to commit to a show.
Just got my ticket for Wembley.
Tickets got for Katowice! was not many seats left when I went to order.
Got tickets for London, just a year to go.
Tickets available in the pit for Katowice in Poland. There's some direct flights from Dublin but not that frequent, better off to fly into Krakow which is close by for anyone interested.
Another new song from the upcoming album ... hearing The Incident in this .... bring it on
Interview with the lads here, some interesting insight. Colin not even mentioned, fairly bizzare tbh.
New albums out today 😎
Giving it a spin right now on Tidal.
First thoughts?
I haven't had a chance to stream it yet
It certainly leans into the mellower, proggier side of the band. The prominent riffs of their latter albums are absent.
It's not their best work (And tbf, The Incident was relatively weak as well) but I'm enjoying it. Between this and his latest solo album I do think the quality has dipped a bit on SW's work lately.
I'm enjoying the album, glad to have new music from the band and looking forward to the tour. I don't think it stands up to some of their classic albums (FOABP, Deadwing, In Absentia etc) but it's a strong 7/10. I will say I'm not liking the art work - it's all a bit IKEA catalog.
1. "Harridan" - Loved it since it was released. Felt like they picked up where they left off.
2. "Of the New Day" Great song, one of the better PT mellower tunes.
3. "Rats Return" - Pretty good - typical PT song - nothing wrong with that.
4. "Dignity" Not getting the hype for this. Have read reviews and online comments saying it's a highlight on the album. I find it a bit bog standard.
5. "Herd Culling" Love this - much better as the extended version rather than the edit they originally released as a single / taster.
6. "Walk the Plank" - Barbieri's soundscapes are very Deadwing / The Incident but if you removed Harrison from it , I think this songs sounds too much like a cast off from Wilson's The Future Bites sessions. Weak track on the album for me.
7. "Chimera's Wreck" - THE highlight - excellent.
Bonus tracks on Deluxe version
8. "Population Three" (instrumental) - Fairly standard instrumental workout - its fine.
9. "Never Have" Wilson - Strong track - should have been on the standard album.
10. "Love in the Past Tense" - One of my favourites from the whole release - should have been on the standard album.
Final thoughts - It should have been a 10 track album. Holding back 3 tunes to release as a deluxe version is nonsense and leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Standard CD is €14 , deluxe version with the 3 tracks on a bonus disc & art book & extra Blu Ray 5.1 dolby mix blah blah blah was €66.
I'll buy the standard version and burn a 10 song CD for the car.
Final, Final thoughts - I think this is Closure , not Continuation. I'm not convinced by Wilson's enthusiasm in interviews about the reunion. Personally I think he took a big financial hit on The Future Bites / cancelled tour and PT is guaranteed income, so he kind of reluctantly went back to it during lockdown.
It's out now, it will sell well and I'm sure the tour will be a success but after that I think he will then go back to solo releases.
Saw Porcupine Tree on Fri in Berlin - absolutely phenomenal. Setlist, visuals, sound - amazing and the band were tight as fcuk.
London's only a couple of weeks away, you just made it better. Thanks Ray.
Enjoy rednik - I reckon you'll be blow away. I wish I was going to another date on the tour.
