IN ABSENTIA

This is an excellent album. I'm not going to break this down track by track trying to rate each track. However, I will say that there isn't track on here that I don't like or that I would call a filler. This is 68 minutes and 18 seconds of quality music. PT has the uncanny ability to make music that keeps the listener interested at every turn. This album is anything but dull. At times it may sound a little on the pop side, but just when you begin to think a track is heading down the pop path, it changes, shifts directions and incorporates a more progressive edge and complexity than originally expected. I can not think of many 68 plus minute albums that keep my attention from start to finish and have me wanting more, but PT has managed to accomplish that with Absentia. Its interesting that some of the tracks that seem to be the lowest rated in other reviews are my favorites here. I particularly like Wedding Nails, The Creator has a Mastertape, Strip the Soul, and Collapse the Light into Earth. I suppose that speaks to the all around strength of this album when you see so many different choices for best tracks mentioned in the reviews. I should add the fact that I'm rarely impressed by many of the current bands and mostly listen to 60's and 70's prog, so I will surprise myself by giving this album a rating as high as five stars but it deserves it.