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"Errare humanum est"
It is hard not to notice the slight misstep that Porcupine Tree had stumbled into with "Deadwing." It is difficult to look at those "Lazarus" and "Shallow" without raising an eyebrow. Steve Wilson understood this, and this time he gives us a "harder, denser, and more intense" album, and above all "trying not to make the same mistakes of the past."
A concept, “Fear of a Blank Planet” does not tell a story, but many stories with a common theme: the media and technological evolution at the expense of growth and, more specifically, the concentration capacity of today's youth. Wilson also explains this well in a recent interview.
So, we cannot speak of a change of course, but simply a “cleanup”: the album should be understood as a single suite of almost 50 minutes, progressive in its intentions, devoid not only of pop-appeal sounds but also of redundant embellishments, all to deliver the captivating music of Porcupine Tree reduced to its essence, as we had known it for some time, in short. We will find a Wilson who is hard, precise, and dreamy on the guitar, atmospheric, introspective, and fairly affected vocals, a Colin Edwin in a rather unusual version with his distorted bass, a dominating drum set, with Gavin Harrison in a state of grace, reaffirming himself here naturally among the best around, and finally an indispensable Barbieri who seasons it all with electronics to taste.
The standout piece of the album is the suite “Anesthetize” which should not be handled with care at all, rather it is smooth and fluid in all its 17 minutes, never suffering from repetitiveness or various expansions, perhaps the most attentive or picky might see almost "references" to modern prog, but the final result is quite pleasant. The introductory title track is the less atmospheric side of Porcupine Tree, quick and brisk, almost preparing us for the listening that follows; the real emotions, typical of Wilson, are given to us by two sweet and melancholic pieces: "My Ashes" and "Sentimental", where the voice, at times dark, at times clearer, is delightfully accompanied by acoustic arpeggios.
The heaviest moment of the album is present in "Way Out of Here", which explodes, after a delicate radiant introduction, into an outburst that manages to summarize the best of metal on one side and prog on the other, clearly distancing itself from the banality of the former and the excesses of the latter; furthermore, in this track, there is the presence of Robert Fripp in the soundscapes, and pardon me if that's not a small thing. The concluding "Sleep Together" is a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the album, and I think that listening over time can only increase this sense of listlessness that the track reveals, especially in the repetitiveness of the arrangements that fail to recreate an atmosphere worthy of the group.
After various listens, it is evident that “Fear of a Blank Planet” is certainly a further confirmation of the band's maturity, and it allows us to appreciate not only the technical prowess (especially of Wilson and Harrison) but also and above all the compositional and arrangement tastes.
Perhaps the most captivating element of Porcupine Tree is the combination of melancholic and sunny atmospheres, and indeed, even the icy gaze of the child on the cover seems to look fearfully and hopefully towards the future.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
02 My Ashes (05:07)
All the things that I needed
And wasted my chances
I have found myself wanting
When my mother and father
Gave me their problems
I accepted them all
Nothing ever expected
I was rejected
But I came back for more
And my ashes drift beneath the silver sky
Where a boy rides on a bike but never smiles
And my ashes fall on all the things we said
On a box of photographs under the bed
I will stay in my own world
Under the covers
I will feel safe inside
A kiss that will burn me
And cure me of dreaming
I was always returning
And my ashes find a way beyond the fog
And return to save the child that I forgot
And my ashes fade among the things unseen
And a dream plays in reverse on piano keys
And my ashes drop upon a park in Wales
Never ending clouds of rain and distant sails
03 Anesthetize (17:42)
A good impression of myself
Not much to conceal
I'm saying nothing
But I'm saying nothing with feel
I simply am not here no way I...
Shut up be happy stop whining please
And because of who we are
We react in mock surprise
The curse of "there must be more"
So don't breathe here, don't leave your bags
I simply am not here no way I...
Shut up be happy stop whining please
***
The dust in my soul makes me feel the weight in my legs
My head in the clouds and I'm zoning out
I'm watching TV but I find it hard to stay conscious
I'm totally bored but I can't switch off
Only apathy from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Electricity from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Only MTV cold philosophy
We're lost in the mall, shuffling through the stores like zombies
Well what is the point? What can money buy?
My hands on a gun and I find the range, God tempt me
Well what did you say? Think I'm passing out
Only apathy from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Electricity from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Only MTV and cold philosophy
***
Water so warm that day
I counted out the waves
As they broke into surf
I smiled into the sun
The water so warm that day
I was counting out the waves
And I followed their short life
As they broke on the shoreline
I could see you
But I couldn't hear you
You were holding your hat in the breeze
Turning away from me
In this moment you were stolen
There's black across the sun
04 Sentimental (05:26)
I never wanna be old
And I don't want dependents
It's no fun to be told
That you can't blame your parents anymore
I'm finding it hard to hang from a star
Don't wanna be
I don't wanna be old
Sullen and bored the kids stay
And in this way they wish away each day
Stoned in the mall the kids play
And in this way they wish away each day
I don't really know
If I care what is normal
And I'm not really sure
If the pills I've been taking are helping
I'm wasting my life
Hurting inside
I don't really know
And I'm not really sure.....
Sullen and bored the kids stay
And in this way they wish away each day
Stoned in the mall the kids play
And in this way they wish away each day
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Other reviews
By DanteCruciani
The songs seem to flow anonymously, only rarely is the stage illuminated by some good insight.
Fear of a Blank Planet feels cold and distant.
By omegabass
The six tracks of 'Fear Of A Blank Planet' are pure perfection, and this time they are even beyond appearances.
'Anesthetize,' seventeen minutes that split the album in half, flows more than three minutes of Sanremo and is... perhaps the most emblematic piece of the Porcupine Tree style.
By MORPHEO 33
Porcupine Tree continues to climb, album after album, to unattainable heights; to places where common people do not think and especially cannot reach.
Anesthetize is destined to become one of the band’s most beautiful and successful suites.
By splinter
Steven Wilson, as usual, leaves nothing to chance.
The title track is honestly one of my favorites written by the group and manages to impart an energy that few other of their songs can convey.
By NoodlesMurphy
From Steven's first guitar stroke, you recognize them, these Porcupine Tree.
Anesthetize... All perfect, a 10 and praise closure.
