Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)
Porcupine Tree’s two-disc release The Incident is
one of the most eagerly anticipated albums by progressive rock
fans this year. Was it worth the wait, and the hype? Well, The
Incident is certainly a different direction for Porcupine Tree
after the last trilogy of albums from In Absentia through
Fear of a Blank Planet. Those longtime PT fans who didn’t
care for the heaviness of the last three albums will probably be
pleased, as the band has brought forth a work of great subtlety
and atmosphere, but those who like the crunch will not be
completely disappointed, as the riffing hasn’t completely gone
away. I find this album to be ample evidence that working with
Robert Fripp has rubbed off on Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven
Wilson. Like Fripp’s band King Crimson does so well, Porcupine
Tree mixes very quiet passages with loud ones, creating a sonic
roller coaster. The other Crimson-esque feature here is the
short passages linking songs, which is somewhat reminiscent of
some of the tracks on King Crimson’s The Power to Believe
album.
This opus comes in two
discs, the first with a 55-minute song suite entitled “The
Incident,” followed by a four-track second disc. Wilson has
said the four tracks on the second disc needed to be separated
from “The Incident” to be viewed fairly on their own merits. In
the past, the band has left standout tracks off of albums
because they didn’t quite fit in with the main theme or tone.
Since The Incident was priced like a single disc, I think it’s a
great decision.
The staccato guitar thunder
of “Occam’s Razor” interplays with ambient passages
between, in this short opener that leads into one of the first
disc’s best songs, “The Blind House.” With a mixture of
the heavy Porcupine Tree we’ve heard over the last three albums
and the melodic rock of Stupid Dream or Lightbulb Sun,
this song serves notice that the band’s latest release is not
going to be a sequel to 2007’s Fear of a Blank Planet.
“The Blind House” should appeal to fans of the latest
Porcupine Tree albums, but also to those who prefer the days of
Signify through Lightbulb Sun. I find the rhythm
section of drummer Gavin Harrison and bassist Colin Edwin
especially strong here.
“Great Expectations”
and “Kneel and Disconnect” are two melodic connecting
pieces that tie together “The Blind House” and “Drawing the
Line.” While the first of these two short pieces sort of
picks up where “The Blind House” left off, “Great Expectations”
is a beautifully haunting piece with a simple arrangement,
allowing keyboardist Richard Barbieri to shine.
The second of the ‘proper
songs’ is “Drawing the Line,” a distinctively Porcupine Tree
song that somehow doesn’t sound like much of anything the band
has done before. The verses are soft, with Wilson’s vocals
standing out, and the chorus is a bit manic. Wilson doesn’t seem
to get much credit for his singing, but it’s a definite strength
of this song.
The album’s title track
follows, with its disturbing lyrics, industrial guitar riffs and
Harrison’s entire arsenal of percussive sounds. The first two
thirds of the "The Incident" is like a quieter, more
subtle version of “Strip the Soul” off of In Absentia,
until the mournful ending where Wilson narrates “I want to be
loved, just want to be loved,” which closes the song on a less
sinister and more melancholy note. Overall, this is one of my
least favorite of the longer tracks in the suite.
Two more short connecting
pieces follow the title track, with “Your Unpleasant Family”
offering some darkly humorous lyrics and some wonderful
guitar work by Wilson. The guitar in this song reminds me of
something from the band’s Stupid Dream – Lightbulb Sun
era. The second of the two short pieces is an ambient number
entitled “The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train.” I’m
not very keen on ambient music in general and find this to be a
non-essential track. The purpose may have been to inject a mood
before the first disc’s centerpiece, “Time Flies,” but
for me it overstays its welcome by a good minute, and it’s only
a two-minute song.
The aforementioned “Time
Flies” is, as Wilson says, as close to something off of Pink
Floyd’s Animals as the band could come without being
sued. It’s a fantastic homage to a classic album, and even
though it sounds like it could have come off of that 1977
release, it has a real freshness to it. Enjoyable lyrics are
another strength of “Time Flies,” and the song is one of the
album’s highlights, and possibly even the pinnacle.
“Degree Zero of Liberty”
is another connective piece that revisits the stabbing guitar
theme of “Occam’s Razor” and leads into “Octane Twisted,”
a song that reminds me a bit of “Gravity Eyelids” on In
Absentia and features some of the more macabre lyrics on the
album, sung beautifully in layered vocals.
Two more connective pieces
link “Octane Twisted” with the final ‘proper song.’ The first of
these, “The Séance,” revisits themes introduced in Octane
and the two could be fused into one track fairly seamlessly. It
finishes with a rocking acoustic guitar section that segues
nicely into “Circle of Manias,” an instrumental that
takes the music back into the heavier electric mode, and comes
closer to the sound of the band’s previous three albums.
The suite-closing “I
Drive the Hearse” has some of my favorite lyrics in the
band’s catalog. I love the imagery in the verses, and the chorus
opener of “And silence is another way of saying what I wanna
say” is a line I enjoy quite a bit. The song closes the suite on
a gentle note, but not before another excellent guitar solo.
This is one of my favorite tracks on the album.
As for the concept of the
album’s disc-long song suite, well...I’m not really sure what it
is. The lyrics are often delightfully cryptic, like all the best
concept albums. But even though I’m not always on the same page
with Wilson’s lyrics, I find them (mostly) terrific on this
release.
Disc two kicks off with
“Flicker,” a slow number full of acoustic guitar and
Barbieri’s atmospheres, similar to some of the tracks in the
band’s back history, but I can’t put my finger on any particular
song that it reminds me of, so I guess it’s different enough.
Emphasis here is on the vocal work, and it’s some of the best on
the album.
“Bonnie the Cat”
comes next, with its ominous whisper-sung vocals – similar in
style to the verses in the song “Deadwing” but at a slower pace
they come off much more menacing – and a syncopated rhythm. This
song is difficult to describe. It’s certainly a different tactic
for Porcupine Tree, and sounds more like something that might
have appeared on Wilson’s solo album, Insurgentes.
Harrison’s drumming shines in the ballsy instrumental section.
The third track, “Black
Dahlia” is maybe the least memorable of the four on the
second disc, but that isn’t to say it’s a bad song. Quite the
contrary. This is one of Wilson’s soft, dark ballads. Barbieri’s
keyboards stand out on this track along with Wilson’s vocals and
subtle guitar solo.
For me, the highlight of
the second disc is closer “Remember Me Lover,” a bitter
breakup song if ever there was one. The lyrics juxtapose nicely
with the beautifully melodic verse and chorus vocals, but there
is an early instrumental section as threatening as an ex in need
of a restraining order that repeats again toward the end of the
song. The all-too-brief second disc closes on a high note, for
sure.
In conclusion, The
Incident ushers in a new era in the sound of an already
amazing band. I read somewhere that Porcupine Tree is
progressing in the best sense of the word, and I agree with that
statement. On first listen, I found it challenging my
perceptions of who Porcupine Tree is. Although not everything
works for me on this album, it is a visionary work that has
grown on me with repeated listens, and perhaps still has some
dazzling gems to reveal over time.
Track List:
Disc One: "The Incident"
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 Séance
13. Circle of Manias
14. I Drive the Hearse
Disc Two:
1. Flicker
2. Bonnie the Cat
3. Black Dahlia
4. Remember Me Lover
