I’ll say it right up front – Porcupine Tree is one of my favourite bands – ever.  I have been a fan of the band since their first album, On the Sunday of Life, recorded between 1988 and 1991.  Though that was essentially a Steven Wilson solo project, the elements of the later works, when PT became a full-fledged band, are all there.  And having followed their development, and Steven Wilson’s solo, side projects and productions over all these years, I wanted to bring attention to the latest Porcupine Tree album, The Incident.  The main reason for my review now is that I feel that The Incident is probably the best example of what PT is, has been, and what the future may bring.  If you are already a fan, then you have your favourites, but I’ve geared this review to newcomers to PT and all that it has to offer.

Back to some brief origins:  Steven Wilson essentially invented a band called Porcupine and made up a fictitious musical family “tree” including fictional band members, much like the sorely missed Rock Family Trees by Pete Frame.  The music he was creating on his own was clearly influenced by the spacier side of Pink Floyd and the avant-garde of Kraut Rock (Amon Duul II) and some Eloy too.  But the music was not just a bunch of taped noodling about; this had wonderful structure and even then, catchy melodic hooks buried in there – stuff that made you sit up and take notice.  He made four albums essentially between 1988 and 1993, some on cassettes which later appeared on CD: the above mentioned Sunday of Life, Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape, Up the Downstair and Staircase Infinities (an EP of sorts, now combined with the remastered Downstair) and the single long track, Voyage 34, a classic stand alone piece that must be heard.  These wonderful spacey recordings, where one of his other bands, No-man, took root (and still going strong, but that’s another whole “tree” in Mr. Wilson’s world), are worth seeking out, especially if you are into that style.  Be prepared, though, to experience a lot more – this is rich music and not just soundscapes.  Right up to and including Downstair, he played all instruments except drums (then played by Gavin Harrison, not yet a member of the band).  But all that changed with the first “proper band” release of Porcupine Tree, 1994’s excellent The Sky Moves Sideways.  Here Chris Maitland came in on drums, with Colin Edwin on bass and Richard Barbieri, from the band Japan (probably my personal favourite band of the New Wave era), on keys.  Mixing the early electonica with heavier rock, this turned out to be one of the most influential albums of the 90s – this and subsequent albums created a whole sub-genre of Progressive Rock - “Progressive”, in this case, meaning music pushing style and substance boundaries, with a nod to the past and present (the entire King Crimson catalogue being a major influence). 

Aside from remixed and live albums, the other studio albums are: Signify (now called Signify/Insignificance for the remaster) (1996), Stupid Dream (1998), Lightbulb Sun (2000), In Absentia (2002), a masterpiece and my personal favourite album of this decade so far, Deadwing (2004), Fear of a Blank Planet (2006) and now the Incident, which to me is a close second to Absentia.  All of these albums have progressed and added to the ones before – becoming more intense and heavier (especially after Steven Wilson produced two Opeth albums).  I think part of that, too, is that Gavin Harrison, my personal favourite drummer right now, took over from Chris Maitland (not knocking his excellent work) for Absentia.

For those people looking for diversity in their music, look no further!  Here you will find everything from alt-rock, electronics, classic Prog, metal, dub, New Wave, heavy rock, vocal rock – nearly every style mashed together into an original approach.  So on to The Incident:

Porcupine Tree currently is: Steven Wilson – vocals, guitars, keyboards; Gavin Harrison – drums and percussion; Colin Edwin – basses; and Richard Barbieri – keyboards.  Though Steven Wilson is the sole lyricist and writes the majority of the music, the other band members contribute to the production, arranging and some of the compositions.  The Incident comes as a double CD set: disc one is the fourteen part “The Incident” while disc 2 is comprised of four unrelated songs that the band wanted to keep separate from the main event. 

The Incident melds together all the great elements of Porcupine Tree in one long (over an hour) piece.  Some of the songs blend together, while others could be taken as stand alones; however, themes reoccur throughout giving the whole bunch a consistency – it really is meant to be heard all the way through.  This is maybe a little nuts, but I will attempt to cover the pieces as we journey through disc one.

Part 1, Occam’s Razor, begins with slashing heavy rock chords, with strange, quiet electronics in between.  It reminds me of the way King Crimson approached the dynamics of Red. 

Part 2, The Blind House, continues with this same pounding, but then alternates the heavy with the light – a beautiful mix of Steven Wilson’s fondness for indie rhythms and vocals – this could be part of the Posies’ magnificent Frosting on the Beater.  His melodies are catchy but edgy and take abrupt turns at any time – that’s why you stay tuned.   The song develops into somewhat of an electronic piece, the soundtrack to a dark science fiction movie.  His plaintive vocal quietly phrases over the beat, then  returns once again to the massive and heavy rock attack.

Part 3, Great Expectations, moves into another more upbeat tune with again, that Fallen Angel-like chord progression, but this is short and turns into

Part 4, Kneel and Disconnect, a nearly folk piece with gorgeous harmonies, and if Crosby Stills and Nash come to mind, don’t be surprised.  Richard’s wonderful, simple piano lines and Colin’s beautiful bass carry you along and then it changes to

Part 5, Drawing the Line, a showcase for Colin’s bass and Gavin’s magnificent drumming.  This piece picks up the pace and becomes a jangly guitar lead working with the rhythm section in counterpoint.  Like most PT pieces, the melodies are catchy and sink into your head, regardless of the volume.  Steven Wilson’s solos during this segment are simple but very effective – he is a master of not overplaying. 

Part 6, The Incident, abruptly takes over; a hypnotic rhythm akin to something you might hear on Bowie’s Heroes.  And then Steven’s love of metal comes in – the crunchy riffing blends with the dub-like beat while Gavin pounds the skins relentlessly.

Part 7, Your Unpleasant Family, is short and sweet, and a great example of Steven Wilson’s vocal arrangements and tracking.  This track features Steven on slide guitar for a brief solo and then it all quiets down for

Part 8, The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train, another short piece of repeating phrasing, nearing Frippertronics in sound and this fades into

Part 9, Time Flies, over eleven minutes and what I consider the centre piece of the whole disc.  Steven’s acoustic guitar pulses below his vocals, and then the rest of the band comes in to follow along.  It is a rousing piece - listen to the many drum fills, rolls and incredible touches that Gavin works out on his kit.  It then breaks into more electric guitar and continues, building stronger and stronger involvement as the band push to then come back to acoustic guitar again with Richard’s subtle keyboards lacing along – a moment that could have been added to Genesis’ Selling England by the Pound, but darker in substance.  Steven then starts to really wail out a solo here – it is powerful and heavy with great sustain and ventures into minor key territory at times.  This is one of the sweatier moments on the album.  It returns to the original acoustic strumming and then back again, drawing you into the power and wall of sound effects.

Part 10, Degree Zero of Liberty, restates the blistering chords of Part 1, alternating with the quieter in-betweens, then moves to

Part 11, Octane Twisted, a series of power chords that drive with that metal-like crunching but as in most PT things, nothing stays the same for long, and the piece gets more complex as the band plays over each other, creating a wall of sound and then it suddenly leads you to a jazzy, hollow sounding place, spooky and eerie and then acoustically leads to

Part 12, The Séance, with the same acoustic melody but approached differently, held back cautiously, setting a mood of tension and then a rhythm change once again and then an explosion of heavy chords replace it with

Part 13, Circle of Manias, which might be the heaviest piece on the disc, something musically that could appear on an Opeth record.  Turn this one up!

Part 14, I Drive the Hearse, ends The Incident as a stand-alone track, but with elements of the parts before it – a beautiful concluding work.  Pastoral in its sound, this track is true progressive rock to these ears – the leads of Camel, the gentleness of Caravan, the acoustics of Genesis, all rolled into one.

On disc two, the four tracks are all different and are all worthy of inclusion.  And again, all four, Flicker, Bonnie the Cat, Black Dahlia (music by Richard Barbieri) and Remember Me Lover, blend the elements I’ve mentioned throughout this review for more PT experience.  (I have read that many people feel Bonnie the Cat is the best track on this whole set – I agree it is good, but I’m not sure I would trade it for The Incident).

So I hope I have given you some idea of Porcupine Tree.  Elements of Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Alternative, Electronic, Metal, Heavy Rock, Folk and Jazz all weave in and out of this music – something for everyone who enjoy the edgier side of rock.  The Incident is a great place to start with PT – if you love it as much as I do, then you have a whole new world to explore.  Before I stop, I also want to comment on the production and sound quality of this disc.  Steven Wilson is recognized now as one of the leading engineers in the biz; everything he touches, production or mixing, has a rich, vibrant sound quality that few others seem to coax out of the CD format.  He has gone back and remastered most of PT’s early work and these are audio marvels worth checking out.  He is also recognized as an expert in converting stereo recordings into 5.1 surround sound – he is currently working with Robert Fripp of King Crimson on those 5.1 reissues.