Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Porcupine Tree
Label: Transmission Records
Released: 2007
Rating: 3/5
Porcupine Tree have been a “hot commodity” in recent years, both among plenty of progressive rock fans and among listeners following certain modern music trends. The phenomenon around the huge commercial success of a once totally obscure space rock/psychedelic rock band, whose music has stirred up so much interest not only among prog fans but also among listeners who would rather follow the radio charts and shifting musical trends, comes down to this: in recent years they’ve managed to combine, on their releases, all the musical elements that have always appealed to both of those groups of listeners.
The “Porcupines” are of course a long way from any kind of musical revolution or big-time innovator status. They’re also far from the only interesting modern progressive rock band out there, but they’re certainly (at least since 2000) one of the most important, since they’ve managed to stir up at least a bit of interest in a genre that had been slowly dying out since the late ’70s and teetering on the edge of obscurity. Plenty of people (me included) couldn’t care less whether prog will ever be as popular again as it was in the ’70s or whether it’ll stay part of the musical “underground” (apart from the fact that it makes albums by this kind of band a lot easier to get hold of). Besides, given the culture of today’s mainstream listening public, there’s really nothing to fear that anything like that could actually happen, despite bands like Porcupine Tree and a few others such as The Mars Volta and Riverside. While I think the many hymns of praise for Porcupine Tree are a bit over the top, I also disagree with those who claim they’ve “sold out” in recent years through their change of sound, especially the bigger dose of prog metal elements and ballads. Despite all the changes their sound has gone through, you can still feel their psychedelic ambient-electronic roots, and unlike what’s quite popular among some prog acts these days, the band never veers into some mindless technicist primitivism. The fact that they’re now listened to by fans of such wildly different bands as Tool, Radiohead, Ozric Tentacles, Rush, Marillion and Pink Floyd deserves nothing but praise and shows just how eclectic their music is.
With their latest EP (a mini album, in other words), Steven Wilson, the singer, guitarist and central genius of the band, wanted to cash in a little more on the success of their current album “Fear Of a Blank Planet” (2007) and squeeze a few extra bucks out of the pockets of those drooling fans for whom that record didn’t quite satisfy the constant craving for new Porcupine Tree music. As a release, “Nil Recurring” doesn’t offer anything new for a band that has put out a whole string of EPs in the past, such as “Staircaste Infinites”, “Moonloop” (both from 1994) and “Futile” (2003). Still, especially after hearing it, I’m absolutely convinced that no fan will want to go without it.
So what’s of interest on “Nil Recurring”? Nothing all that dramatic, but certainly enough to satisfy the appetite of every last one of their admirers. “Nil Recurring” contains four tracks that were written during the recording of the album but, for logistical reasons, didn’t find a place on it. The opening title track features none other than the forefather (and, in recent years, willingly or not, chief patron) of progressive rock, Robert Fripp (King Crimson), who already took part in “Way Out Of Here”, a track from “Fear Of a Blank Planet”. Surprisingly, this time Fripp doesn’t turn to his first love – soundscapes – but takes over as lead guitarist and, on top of his trademark frenetic lines, plays one proper solo that’s recognizable from a mile away. Given that this is a pretty classic Porcupine Tree creation, the kind they’ve been doing in recent years, with that recognizable mix of ambient, psychedelic soundscapes and plenty of prog-metal flights on guitar and rhythm, Fripp’s contribution is more than welcome, because it adds some of that uncompromising Crimsonesque apocalyptic edge that makes Wilson’s conceptual visions of a wrecked internet generation driving the world to ruin even more convincing. Another curiosity of this composition is that drummer Gavin Harrison plays tap guitar on it (an instrument similar to the Chapman Stick). “Normal” is really an alternative version of the beloved melancholic ballad “Sentimental” from “Fear Of A Blank Planet”, which contains a motif similar to the classic “Trains” (In Absentia, 2002). The main differences are a bigger helping of orientally tinged ambient soundscapes, different lyrics, backing vocals and extra subtle passages on acoustic guitar. “Cheatng The Polygraph”, which they already played on the 2006 tour and which appears on the LP version of “Fear Of a Blank Planet” (between “My Ashes” and “Anesthetize”), was also recorded during the making of “Fear Of a Blank Planet” but didn’t make it onto the CD release in the end. A decent call, if you ask me, since it probably wouldn’t have fit all that well with the album’s overall sonic image. Still, I’d say it’s another interesting creation from the computer freak and his crew, full of unpredictable twists, raw guitar passages and dynamic, brutal rhythms, with ambient sound curtains alternating in between while Wilson sings through a special sound effect. “What Happens Now?” is, in my opinion, the most stylistically standout piece on the record, because of everything on it, it most recalls their old sound, mainly thanks to the heavy dose of ambient created by loads of electronic patterns on keyboards and special sound effects. Ben Coleman’s presence on electric violin, Wilson’s buddy from their joint project No-Man, also does its part. The interplay of electric violin, guitar and keyboards in the middle section is dreamy and brings a tasteful dose of symphonic refinement to the abundance of electronic patterns. Prog metal fans won’t go without some seriously punchy passages either, with a rather weird closing solo (considering Wilson isn’t exactly known as a solo master, this one turns out surprisingly well). It does sting a little that the central guitar riff is copied completely from “Anesthetize” off “Fear Of a Blank Planet”. A composition that will appeal to some fans of Gilmour-era Pink Floyd and Hogarth-era Marillion too.
Apart from three tracks that are totally new and unheard until now (for those who haven’t caught “Cheating The Polygraph” live, of course), “Nil Recurring” brings nothing dramatically new, let alone anything you wouldn’t have heard before in their sound. Still, it’ll surely be extremely appealing to all the band’s loyal followers and to everyone who felt “Fear Of a Blank Planet” gave them too small a dose of that “Porcupine” musical trip. You can hardly blame the latter group if they can’t hold out until the album hits general release (reportedly in early 2008) and end up ordering it, drooling, through the band’s website.
Line-up
Steven Wilson – vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards
Colin Edwin – bass guitar
Richard Barbieri – keyboards and synthesizer
Gavin Harrison – drums, percussion, tap guitar (1)
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Robert Fripp (King Crimson) – lead guitar (1)
John Wesley – backing vocals
Ben Coleman (No-Man) – electric violin (4)
Production
Porcupine Tree
Track list
1. Nil Recurring (6:08)
2. Normal (7:07)
3. Cheating the Polygraph (7:06)
4. What Happens Now? (8:23)
Total runtime: 28:00
