Label: Kscope Records
Release date: 22. 10. 2021
Album length: 90.58 min
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
Bruce Soord, the frontman and chief musical visionary of British prog rockers The Pineapple Thief, stayed very busy in 2020 too. The Pineapple Thief put out their latest studio album “Versions of the Truth” in September 2020 (RockLine review), and like many acts in this galaxy, they ran straight into a ban on performing that very same year. Except, of course, for the so-called ‘isolation maneuvers’, which you mostly just stream yourself (live) online, with whatever ingenuity and resources you’ve got. So even though 2020 wasn’t meant for touring, the hard-working Soord managed to wrap up his four-part acoustic odyssey in exactly that fashion last December, and to top off three ‘isolation’ concerts with a fourth batch of acoustic adaptations, which saw the light of day this April in the box set “The Soord Sessions Volumes 1-4”.
And this very same April, The Pineapple Thief finally made it onto a stage themselves, too. ‘Locked away in isolation’ and armed with the full recording setup, including several film cameras, they captured a concert with the set that had originally been planned for a world tour. Besides the complete concert film, this live document also includes a bonus documentary where you can sink your teeth into every detail and nuance, taking you behind the scenes of the preparations that shaped the look of the later execution of the carefully picked setlist. The band also thought of the part of its audience that worships Gavin Harrison, so they added an extra camera that filmed only the ‘phantom’ drummer from up close.
Even though these lines are being written based on the audio carrier alone, that is, without watching the DVD or Blu-ray that comes with the band’s new live document, that’s more than enough. The magic and the sheer grandeur come through in the audio alone, instantly. Convincing in a heartbeat. It sucks you in. Into its own world.
It’s no secret anymore that Harrison’s arrival gave the band an extra creative kick, and Soord’s artistic maturing (especially his ever-growing sophistication as a composer) did its part too, so in this intimate setting the songs sparkle in their own way. The older classics have received an artistic and maturity upgrade, especially in that their alternative-rock pedigree, thanks to the prog-rock intensity of Harrison’s drumming persona, survives more or less only in glimmers, while the newer songs, especially White Mist, Far Below, Uncovering Your Tracks and the particularly excellent Threatening War (all from “Disillusion”, 2018), then (the closing, extended) The Final Thing on My Mind and In Exile (both from “Your Wilderness”, 2016), and of course the newest songs from “Versions Of Truth” (among them the brilliant Our Mire stands out again, as does the ‘lost’ The Swell), point to the band’s exceptional artistic maturity. Both in composition and in performance. Among the older numbers (the pre-Gavin era), the update of the “10 Stories Down” (2005) classic Wretched Soul turned out especially well.
From head to toe, this release is a work of perfection. Both sonic and visual. The sound alone is plenty, but true devotees of the band will absolutely reach for everything The Pineapple Thief offer on this fascinating release, which is definitely something special as a live outing. Because it was forced into the setting of intimacy, that special quality will only gain value over the years. Historically, too, since the times in which it was made are a turning point for all of us. “Nothing But The Truth” is also very welcome for those of you just discovering the band. A great entry point into its catalog, while longtime fans will be fascinated above all by how far The Pineapple Thief have actually driven their constant artistic evolution over the years. The Pineapple Thief are surely one of those musical fascinations (globally speaking) that has pulled off an incredible artistic swerve, or rather a leap, in its own evolutionary transformation in recent years. And that is surely not fully finished yet. That is surely the biggest trump card, which not only reflects the excellent creative form of the band’s new era, but also keeps the current lineup’s camaraderie vital, hungry for constantly proving itself and surpassing artistic milestones. So it’s worth watching the band’s future studio feats with great interest, while we can happily pass the time marveling at all the lavishly displayed perfectionism of this tightly polished live album. “Nothing But The Truth”, just as the title of the document says, is a wonderful manifesto of the band’s artistic honesty. It doesn’t get deeper or more heartfelt than this.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
CD1.
1. Versions Of The Truth
2. In Exile
3. Warm Seas
4. Our Mire
5. Build A World
6. Demons
7. Driving Like Maniacs
8. Someone Pull Me Out
9. Uncovering Your Tracks
10. Break It All
CD2.
1. White Mist
2. Out Of Line
3. Wretched Soul
4. Far Below
5. Threatening War
6. The Swell
7. The Final Thing On My Mind
Line-up:
Bruce Soord – vocals, guitar
Steve Kitch – keyboards
Jon Sykes – bass guitar
Gavin Harrison – drums
