Porcupine Tree – The Incident

Releasedate: 15-09-2009; Label: Roadrunner Records
By: Lara Cappelli

Porcupine Tree started their career back in 1987. This English band is one of the most important on the Alternative Rock scene, with the passing of time it has grown up and evolved its sound more and more throw ten great studio albums.

The album is structured in two cds: the first one contains just one song, “The Incident”, divided in 14 parts, the second one contains the other four songs left. The concept of the album deals with the thought of a start and an end, and how things can change in the period of time between these two phases. This idea came to singer mind, Steven Wilson, when he saw an accident on a street: the sign “Incident” really impressed him and made him aware of how lives of people involved in that accident could change from that moment on. So he started to gather information about other accidents and write music based on what media wrote about them. Now you might be asking why the hell I am writing all this. Just because the album wouldn’t be understood without knowing the concept that stands under it. The surreal feeling of an accident is to be heard in both the cds: the first one has a sort of Pink Floyd’s influence, in it you can find fresh melodies mixed with heavy riffs, even if the highlights remain the acoustic and atmospheric parts of it (“Kneel And Disconnect”) . The second cd is far from banal, maybe is more easy to listen but no less intriguing for that. Steven Wilson voice is perfectly in harmony with the dreamy atmosphere of the songs.

It took me some time to assimilate this album and for this reason I suggest anyone interested in it to take an hour of your time, sit down and just listen to it, without doing anything else.
I think The Incident is what Porcupine Tree are all about, it is the perfect synthesis of their sound. It is just a masterpiece.

Links:
Porcupine Tree MySpace
Porcupine Tree Official