Porcupine Tree - Nil Recurring [2007]

If you've listened to Porcupine Tree's 2007 album about the state of the 21st century youth, you'll know what this companion EP is all about. These 4 songs were all recorded along the songs that made it onto "Fear of a Blank Planet", but were left out because they interrupted the flow of the album and would have made it too long. Thankfully they were saved though, because the songs on here sure are some crackers. The title track features some guitar wizardry from one Robert Fripp (who also appeared on the album), and some pretty heavy riffing about halfway through. "Normal" is the EP's best track. It was shortened and re-worked into "Sentimental" on the album, but here the original is much longer and varied (although I'll admit "Sentimental" works in the album much better than this would). "Cheating the Polygraph" takes hints from "Anesthetize", especially in the riff that comes in a couple of minutes in. Finally, "What Happens Now?" is mostly instrumental, with a sound something like that of Voyage 34.

Anyway, if you liked "Fear of a Blank Planet" and didn't quite feel depressed enough about the current generation after listening to it, then this EP is for you.


4 tracks, 28:44, 40.73 MB
Mediafire (Mp3, 192 kbps)

Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun [2000]

Now then, my first post, apologies for any faux pas. Right, you may be aware that some of us on this blog are fans of the band Porcupine Tree which is why I was surprised when my colleagues didn't like this album. This album is found at a crossroads as after this album "heavy" Porcupine Tree came into being, so this is an end of an era so to speak. First off, this album is darker than Stupid Dream which cane before this album and makes use of acoustic guitars often and while some songs are very catchy ('Lightbulb Sun', 'Four Chords That Made A Million'), others are a bit odd ('Russia On Ice' 'How Is Your Life Today?'). The best way to get a feel for the album is to look at the cover. It is a world mostly drained of colour expect for some light of beauty somwhere out there. That does sound a tad faggoty but for me this is a very strong album with a different feel to its neighbouring albums and, for me anyway, this album surpasses both of them.

256 kbps

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Porcupine Tree - In Absentia [2002]

You may have noticed I've missed out the album between this and "Stupid Dream" ("Lightbulb Sun", released 2000). That's because this album follows on musically from "Stupid Dream", and also because I didn't enjoy "Lightbulb Sun" as much as these other two.

"In Absentia", then. Beginning with the hard-hitting "Blackest Eyes", this album weaves its way through many different moods and emotions, without becoming jarring throughout. Overall this is a great album that I'm sure you'll be coming back to often.

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)

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(n.b. I've just written six of these in a row - can you tell?)

Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream [1999]

If you've never heard of Porcupine Tree before, it's important to note that they essentially started out as "Pink Floyd 2". At least, that was frontman Stephen Wilson's initial vision. However in the late '90s, the band began to incorporate more elements of progressive metal in their sound. "Stupid Dream" then, it seems, was cut slap bang in the middle of this transition, making the best of both worlds.

The album kicks off with the mellow "Even Less", which is immediately followed by the catchy "Piano Lessons", arguably one of the most commercial songs the band has ever recorded. A combination of slow rockers and more upbeat songs (including a fantastic bassline at the beginning of "Slave Called Shiver") follows, resulting in a great album altogether.

M4a, @320 kbps (VBR)

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