Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Porcupine Tree
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release: 2009
Length: 75:56
Rating: 4.5/5
“The Incident” is the long-awaited double album from the workshop of the cult British prog rockers Porcupine Tree, one of the few modern prog rock outfits that, thanks to a wide sonic spectrum flirting with elements of progressive metal, alternative rock and ambient among other things, enjoy real success with a broader audience too. They’ve earned their standing among prog fans above all through a string of excellent studio albums, which won them the flattering title of spiritual heirs to some of the progressive rock giants of the sixties and seventies. That flattering title is both a blessing and a curse, though, because with every new release they have to justify their status as the brightest star on the modern prog rock horizon.
The follow-up to the superb “Fear Of a Blank Planet” (2007) packs in more than 75 minutes of music, which is no small thing and the main reason for the band’s first double album ever. The centerpiece is a 55-minute suite that takes up the entire first disc and forms a conceptual cycle of fourteen interconnected tracks. “The Incident” isn’t the first concept album from Steven Wilson and his up-and-coming prog rock crew, since they already wrestled with the social deviations of modern-day “cyber” youth on “Fear Of a Blank Planet”, but thanks to the complex structure of the individual pieces it’s certainly their most ambitious project, even if plenty of listeners will struggle to get through the seemingly simple but actually rather surreal concept. That’s also one of the album’s few weak spots, as Mr. Wilson is repeating himself quite a bit from album to album with the usual social themes of total alienation, spiritual emptiness and the general sickness of modern society.
The inspiration for most of the lyrical ideas, and for the album’s title itself, came when Steven saw a road sign reading ‘police incident’ at the scene of a traffic accident one day. Not long after, he got a strange feeling that the ghost of someone who had died in a car crash had gotten into his car. The word ‘incident’ inspired the rest of the lyrics too, which describe a handful of traumatic events from the recent past, among them the rescue of American teenage girls from the clutches of some crazed religious cult in Texas, a family that constantly terrorizes its neighbors, and a mysterious human body found floating on a river in the middle of a fishing trip. Every song is written in the first person and tries to embody the almost nauseating sarcasm and dryness with which the big media houses usually cover such events.
The concept is admittedly no paragon of innovation, so it wouldn’t hurt if Steven took a somewhat different approach in the future. The musical side of the album, meanwhile, keeps the usual Porcupine Tree sonic recipe and brings plenty of reasons to be happy, especially for the longtime fans who weren’t exactly thrilled that their darlings sailed full steam into progressive metal waters in recent years. “The Incident” has a noticeably broader spectrum than, say, its predecessor: alongside the usual prog metal cannonades there’s no shortage of moments where wide ambient curtains of synth textures from Mr. Barbieri awaken that nostalgic magic that marked the early albums of this still excellent band. The Edwin/Harrison rhythm section, as always, brims with imagination while steering clear of any solo showboating. There’s also a big emphasis on acoustic moments, where their many subtle sides come to the surface. Despite a few minor vocal experiments that are out of character for him, Steven’s voice still keeps that incredible emotional pull with which he has always locked the listener into a special trance.
The individual compositions weave together superbly across the whole conceptual suite. The reprise of some already-heard motifs also does a lot to reinforce the concept’s atmosphere. The opening “Occam’s Razor”, where distorted electric guitar intervals crash over an ambient sonic collage, is, in the style of some of their past work, a warm-up for a proper “metalized” explosion, which bursts out at full tilt on “The Blind House”, where they once again convincingly merge diverse chunks of prog metal and ethereal ambient. The hypnotic chorus is lovely proof that over the years they haven’t lost the melodic sensibility that has always defined their musical voice. The album features several shorter pieces that successfully link the more complex compositions together, and none of them can be written off as needless filler. A good example is “Great Expectations”, a nice fusion of acoustics and distortion that ends with an elegant transition into the pleasant ballad “Kneel And Disconnect”, where charming arrangements on acoustic guitar and piano really shine.
“Drawing the Line”, where fragile keyboard motifs clash with punchy guitar passages, is another successful experiment in combining ambient sensibility, prog metal temperament and alternative rock rebelliousness. Wilson’s slightly unusual vocal approach picks up on that last one. The title track, mostly because of its many choppy guitar passages, use of a vocoder and a vast palette of electronic textures, strongly recalls some forgotten creation from “Fear Of a Blank Planet”, and even flirts with elements of industrial metal, although it has a very pretty and relaxed chorus. The short dirges “Your Unpleasant Family” and “The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train”, with their ambient curtains and twisted guitar effects, strongly recall some pieces from the band’s early, more electronic and psychedelic days.
The strongest candidate for the best track on the whole album is the excellent “Time Flies”, which hides a cheeky lyrical reference to the Beatles classic “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” among other things. A spirited acoustic guitar melody, paired with Steven’s trademark dreamy vocals, radiates an almost Pink Floyd-like level of ethereal subtlety, while the many sudden, highly complex transitions between sections and Wilson’s superb guitar solos will delight even the most demanding prog fans. It’s truly incredible how Steven and the gang weave an unforgettable ambient masterpiece out of a seemingly simple, almost basic acoustic guitar melody.
“Degree Zero of Liberty” is a reprise of the distorted opening motif, which quickly gives way to another interesting stylistic hybrid called “Octane Twisted”, one that all the prog metalheads among the regular Porcupine Tree fans will lick their lips over, since there’s no shortage of aggressive guitar volleys while the rhythmic variety stays at its usual enviable level. “The Seance” rests on a gentle acoustic melody, further enriched by Wilson’s once again superb, emotionally drained singing, while as a whole it creates a rather gloomy mood, the kind that prevails across most of the album. With the ominous instrumental “Circle of Manias”, ruled by distorted guitar passages and a snarling bass line, they head back into brutal, metallic territory. The conceptual suite closes with the brilliant ballad “I Drive the Hearse”, which in terms of the emotion Mr. Wilson pours into it can even be compared to Porcupine Tree ballad classics like “Lazarus” and “Sentimental”. The emotionally rich vocal performance is backed by a dreamy acoustic melody and gentle curtains of mellotron in the background. A perfectly fitting end to the first half of the record, since it wraps up on a note that’s as optimistic as ambient music gets.
The second disc holds four more tracks that sit outside the conceptual core but still offer quite a few interesting moments. The first is the sentimental ballad “Flicker”, which especially impresses with superb vocal harmonies loaded with a generous dose of hypnotic melody. Despite its oddly comical title, “Bonnie the Cat” is anything but comical, ruled as it is by an extremely sinister atmosphere. Steven once again makes extensive use of the vocoder, and there’s no shortage of electronic textures on synths and distorted guitar sequences, with which they head into some pretty brutal-sounding prog metal waters. Despite successfully building that sinister atmosphere, this track, thanks to the heavy mix of the sonic elements mentioned above, will be the least favorite of many longtime fans. “Black Dahlia” is another solid, wonderfully arranged ballad where Wilson again gets the chance to reveal his poetic and thoroughly melancholic soul. On the closing masterpiece “Remember Me Lover”, surely one of the best pieces on the album, they once again shine with gorgeous harmonies, technical polish and a generous infusion of emotion, and with flying colors justify their status as the currently most esteemed modern progressive rock band.
With The Incident, Porcupine Tree have “cooked up” yet another modern progressive rock masterpiece, one that grows in your ears with every new listen and so always rewards the listener with fresh surprises. Anyone who has followed the band for a long time, or maybe even since their very first steps, really shouldn’t be too surprised, since Steven Wilson keeps confirming that he’s one of the few modern British musicians who completely understands the primal soul of progressive rock, which drew its inspiration from boundless sonic creativity, unpredictability and as much emotion as you can possibly pour in, while never being afraid to experiment with some more modern sonic elements, which on that account draw a wider community to Porcupine Tree’s music too. At every turn the album faithfully follows the recognizable and beloved Porcupine Tree finesses, flirting now and then with their sonic roots, while at the same time offering a completely fresh approach when it comes to the structure of the album itself. “The Incident”, despite a somewhat lame, not to say worn-out concept, thus continues Porcupine Tree’s winning streak of masterpieces that countless generations of descendants will be able to talk about, if humanity sticks around long enough.
Lineup
Steven Wilson – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Richard Barbieri – synthesizer, keyboards
Colin Edwin – bass guitar, double bass
Gavin Harrison – drums, percussion
John Wesley – additional guitars
Production
Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree
Tracklist
CD1:
1. Occam’s Razor
2. The Blind House
3. Great Expectations
4. Kneel And Disconnect
5. Drawing The Line
6. The Incident
7. Your Unpleasant Family
8. The Yellow Windows Of The Evening Train
9. Time Flies
10. Degree Zero Of Liberty
11. Octane Twisted
12. The Seance
13. Circle Of Manias
14. I Drive The Hearse
CD2:
1. Flicker
2. Bonnie The Cat
3. Black Dahlia
4. Remember Me Lover
