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I met a girl who liked daisies, she said it was her favorite flower. She liked to think and make others think that simplicity is represented by a daisy. And indeed, she had simple thoughts. Then I found out that the daisy is anything but a simple flower; it belongs to the “composite” family, in a few words, what we see as a flower is actually many flowers, each ‘petal’ is a flower.
When a friend of my son, whom I knew listened to what I considered unlikely music, recommended me to listen to Porcupine Tree, I had many doubts. “Listen to In Absentia, you’ll see you’ll like it.” I didn’t believe it, but I was wrong.
Porcupine Tree is a band that took the romantic prog and developed their own modern version not too far from the legendary pioneering bands. The leader Steve Wilson seems to have a blood connection with those bands. I see him in an imaginary vintage photo alongside Tony Banks, Robert Fripp, Roger Waters, him in short pants. A great guitarist and singer but above all an excellent composer and arranger, he leads a group of talented musicians, notably mentioning drummer Gavin Harrison.
The album: a stunning start that lends charisma to the entire record, because I consider important how a work opens, and after a first electric guitar arpeggio, that slide sound at second 52 drives me crazy and introduces a very pleasant 'Blackest Eyes'. Just as pleasant is 'Trains' which, after an acoustic start, showcases a Wilson inspired both in singing and arrangements. The same goes for the following 'Lips of Ashes', but to tell the truth, the whole album is the exaltation of arrangement. Demonstrating how a good composition can become a masterpiece. In 'The Sound of Muzak' Gavin Harrison’s personality on drums with his refined rhythms and touches starts to be heard. Here a nice interlude led by Colin Edwin with a great bass line and at the end the first of those electric guitar breaks of Steve’s so elegant... simple and elegant.
After a decent 'Gravity Eyelids' and a 'Wedding Nails' vaguely hard comes 'Prodigal', which along with 'Heartattack in a Layby' represents the highest points of the work. In 'Prodigal' class and experience are plentiful, fantastic riff and solo with guitar in his dearest timbre.
Powerful bass line for '.3' where the psychedelia past but not forgotten emerges from Wilson's pen. Rhythm dominates also in 'The Creator Has a Mastertape', indeed more so here. Then comes the already mentioned 'Heartattack in a Layby', a sweet track where the protagonist reflects in his car on his return home, wrapped in a light fog. The listener can’t help but sing “iaiaiaiaiaiaia” in the delicate counterpoint of the refrain. Another great piece is "Strip The Soul", regulated by an insistent bass line but above all by a wonderful final riff. The album concludes with a beautiful track titled 'Collapse the Light into Earth' which in its simplicity reminds me of 'Eclipse' from the legendary 'The Dark Side of the Moon'. An association that 'I feel': could be the melody, could be the piano, could be the affinity of the titles, anyway, I feel it. The piano, the choirs, and the synth: simplicity and beauty. The distorted guitar at the end is the last treat of an album truly beautiful and well recorded.
An apparent simplicity that hides complexity. So, if I had to describe this record with a flower, I’d say it's a daisy in the field of rock flowers. And if I saw that girl again, I’d tell her that one might believe to be simple, but actually, we are all complicated, some more, some less, there is complexity and complexity. And I’d give her a kiss because her 'complex simplicity' really pleased me. And I’d gift her this album.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Blackest Eyes (04:23)
A mother sings a lullaby to a child
Sometime in the future the boy goes wild
And all his nerves are feeling some kind of energy
A walk in the woods and I will try
Something under the trees that made you cry
It's so erotic when your make up runs
I got wiring loose inside my head
I got books that I never ever read
I got secrets in my garden shed
I got a scar where all my urges bled
I got people underneath my bed
I got a place where all my dreams are dead
Swim with me into your blackest eyes
A few minutes with me inside my van
Should be so beautiful if we can
I'm feeling something taking over me
I got wiring loose inside my head
I got books that I never ever read
I got secrets in my garden shed
I got a scar where all my urges bled
I got people underneath my bed
I got a place where all my dreams are dead
Swim with me into your blackest eyes
I got wiring loose inside my head
I got books that I never ever read
I got secrets in my garden shed
I got a scar where all my urges bled
I got people underneath my bed
I got a place where all my dreams are dead
Swim with me into your blackest eyes
02 Trains (05:56)
Train set and match spied under the blind,
Shiny and contoured the railway winds,
And I've heard the sound from my cousin's bed,
The hiss of the train at the railway head,
Always the summers are slipping away,
A 60 ton angel falls to the earth,
A pile of old metal, a radiant blur,
Scars in the country, the summer and her,
Always the summers are slipping away,
Find me a way for making it stay,
When I hear the engine pass
I'm kissing you wide,
The hissing subsides
I'm in luck,
When the evening reaches here
You're tying me up,
I'm dying of love
It's OK,
When I hear the engine pass
I'm kissing you wide,
The hissing subsides
I'm in luck,
When the evening reaches here
You're tying me up,
I'm dying of love
It's OK,
Always the summers are slipping away,
Find me a way for making it stay,
Always the summers are slipping away,
Always the summers are slipping away...
04 The Sound of Muzak (04:59)
Hear the sound of music
Drifting in the aisles
Elevator prozac
Stretching on for miles
The music of the future
Will not entertain
It's only meant to repress
And neutralise your brain
Soul gets squeezed out
Edges get blunt
Demographic
Gives what you want
One of the wonders of the world
Is going down
It's going down I know
It's one of the blunders of the world
That no-one cares
No-one cares enough
Now the sound of music
Comes in silver pills
Engineered to suit you
Building cheaper thrills
The music of rebellion
Makes you wanna rage
But it's made by millionaires
Who are nearly twice your age
Soul gets squeezed out
Edges get blunt
Demographic
Gives what you want
One of the wonders of the world
Is going down
It's going down I know
It's one of the blunders of the world
That no-one cares
No-one cares enough
05 Gravity Eyelids (07:56)
Open your eyes now
Hear me out before I lose my mind
I've been waiting for hours
Let the salt flow, feel my coil unwind
Give me a smile please
Count the calm and watch my breathing slow
Winding me up tease
Get inside my head and make it show
Gravity eyelids come down
Touching your oil skin
Slipping hands down past your waist to find
I've been waiting for hours
Let the salt flow, feel my coil unwind
Go to the edge swim
Brown the eyes that sleep has rendered blind
1. Gravity eyelids come down
2. Come love so young with your gold arms so I wake her
3. Here's a will that will glow in the dark
07 Prodigal (05:32)
I don't know whose side I'm on
I don't think that I belong round here
If I left the stage would that be wrong ?
I tried to find myself a better way
I got religion but I went astray
They took my money and I lost my faith
Rain keeps crawling down the glass
The good times never seem to last
Close your eyes and let the thought pass
I tried the capsule and I tried the smoke
I tried to aid escape like normal folk
But I never seemed to get the joke
Rain keeps crawling down the glass
The good times never seem to last
Close your eyes and let the thought pass
These are my old clothes
This is a new low
This is my blood flow
This is my headstone
I spend my days with all my friends
They're the ones on who my life depends
I'm gonna miss them when the series ends
Rain keeps crawling down the glass
(Pull yourself together)
The good times never seem to last
(You know it's not so bad)
Close your eyes and let the thought pass
(Close your eyes and let it pass)
09 The Creator Has a Mastertape (05:21)
He captured and collected things
And he put them in a shed
He raised a proper family
So he could tie them to a bed
The creator had a mastertape
But he left it in a cab
I stared into the void tonight
The best dream I ever had
He worked himself into the ground
And drove a spike into his head
A voice said "Are you happy now ?
Your sordid home is running red?"
The creator had a mastertape
But he left it in a cab
I stared into the void tonight
The best dream I ever had
Pills and chloroform
All the pages torn
Pills and chloroform
All the pages torn
Pills and chloroform
All the pages torn
10 Heartattack in a Layby (04:15)
I pull off the road
East of Baldock and Ashford
Feeling for my cell
In the light from the dashboard
Hissing from the road
The smell of rain in the air con
Maybe check the news
Or just put a tape on
Lighting up a smoke
I've got this feeling inside me
Don't feel too good
If I close my eyes
And fell asleep in this layby
Would it all subside
The fever pushing the day by
Motor window wind
I could do with some fresh air
Can't breathe too well
(She waits for me. Home waits for me.)
I guess I should go now
She's waiting to make up
To tell me she's sorry
And how much she missed me
I guess I'm just burnt out
I really should slow down
I'm perfectly fine but
I just need to lie down
We'll grow old together
We'll grow old together
We'll grow old together....
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Other reviews
By humax4
The English combo led by S.Wilson gave me the Christmas gift...we’re at it again.
Another test of PT’s genius...a well-done album in every single part....but beware METAL-HEADS...it’s not for you.
By splinter
Every track is curated in every detail; Steven Wilson is someone who doesn’t want to know what superficiality is... because superficiality leads to loss of quality, loss of class, and he knows it well!
Porcupine Tree is truly a band that makes a difference in today’s prog scene; a band that wants to avoid comparisons with the more famous colleagues and therefore creates its own style.
By Omega Kid
Stupid Dream is the story of an epic infatuation, a destabilizing crush that makes it difficult to rationally evaluate what surrounds us.
It’s simply a comforting, warm corner of serenity, where Wilson finally manages to find that dimension craved by his creative vein.
By Relator
The music enthusiast is 'stateless' inside, ageless, knows how to mentally enhance a listening experience in every way because music is addictive.
Starting again from the beginning, the attack of 'Blackest Eyes' pierces only to switch to the fantastic melodious voice.
