WHAT WE HAVE SOWN

From the Cyclops web site

"Cyclops are proud to present the sixth studio album from The PINEAPPLE THIEF. The first five tracks are a stunning set of songs that prove the quality of the writing of the main songwriter Bruce Soord, who also gives us more displays of his guitar work.

The 27 minute tour de force track "What We Have Sown" is something a little different for the group. Built around a beautiful main song, this shows the group in its more adventurous mode with terrific drum work and fluid guitar solos. lovely keyboard work is then woven into the instrumental sections together with spiralling guitar themes that ebb and flow to become one of the finest PINEAPPLE THIEF tracks to date.

We think this is their best album so far and one that will add to the reputation that this band has built up over the last five years and sure to increase their ever expanding legion of devoted fans "

Can be ordered at www.gft-cyclops.co.uk or www.pineapplethief.com due out in October 2007.

What We Have Sown is a very pleasant alternative rock album with folk and progressive rock elements. The music features generally easy melodies, prominent acoustic guitars, electric guitars, complementary keyboards and mellotron, and a relatively restrained rhythm section that works relatively well without being flashy. The instruments do not stand out most of the time as the vocals tend to be the dominating force in this album's shorter tracks.

I think I would describe the music as an alternate version of Radiohead. Some of the band's elements are here: the vocals sound like Yorke, the ballads sound familiar if you heard Radiohead, there is a bit of electronics, and melancholia is all over the album, even if it is nowhere as depressing as the Art Rock giants.

The album begins with the solid Radiohead-influenced All You Need to Know which features mellotron. Afterwards, the clear highlight Well, I Think That's What You Said will most likely surprise the listener with the excellent instrumental arrangements and fantastic choruses. West Winds is a subdued instrumental that has great textures and grows into a more intense section. the long title track is a quite good song, but hard to digest as it's almost thirty minutes of low to mid-tempo music. It's a nice song with some outstanding electric guitar leads in minute 4 and 10 but I generally lose interest over the second half, despite some clever chord progressions scattered throughout. I prefer Remember Us from the progarchives sample by a wide margin.

Overall, this is a good album and few would regret buying it. Pleasant, accessible, melancholic and dreamy.

I've been a fan of this band from the beginning and have often felt like a lone wolf on this site crying out their praises. So it's almost shocking to see 45 ratings already for this cd, and with them signing to a bigger label (Snapper) the future looks bright for Bruce and the boys. It doesn't hurt either to have Steven Wilson recommend this album does it ? Bruce sent Steven a copy of this cd before it was released moving Wilson to recommend to Snapper that they sign this band.

"All You Need To Know" opens with mellotron-like waves as strummed guitar and vocals arrive. Drums 1 1/2 minutes in as the sound gets louder. A minute later the electric guitar sounds fantastic as mellotron-like sounds and drums continue. I fell for this song the first time I heard it. "Well, I Think That's What You Said ?" opens with a percussion / violin melody. Vocals are Yorke-like as they arrive a minute in. Guitar 2 minutes in.The drums take over 4 minutes in, and then it ends experimentally. Great track ! "Take Me With You" opens with drums, synths and violin as mournful vocals come in again sounding like Yorke. Guitar 2 1/2 minutes in match the vocals. A spacey interlude 4 minutes in before Bruce comes back vocally with more passion.

"West Winds" opens with spacey sounds. The song gets some structure 2 minutes in as drums and guitar create a slow paced melody. The drums take the lead and dominate 5 1/2 minutes in. Some aggressive guitar joins in over a minute later as it gets intense. It becomes pastoral 8 minutes in to the end. "Deep Blue World" in my mind is a tribute to Bruce's "little man", making it a very emotional track to say the least. Strummed guitar, violin and reserved vocals lead the way, drums come later. Remarkable song. "What We Have Sown" is the over 27 minute finale. It opens with echoes. Yes it does sound like the PINK FLOYD song of the same name. That changes a minute in when heavy drums and a full sound arrive. Cool guitar melody before 3 minutes. A calm 4 1/2 minutes in as echoes are back. Piano a minute later and then waves of synths 6 minutes in with light drums. Vocals for first time 6 1/2 minutes in. This continues until mournful guitar melodies come in before 11 minutes. Piano takes the lead 12 1/2 minutes in before electronics arrive. Drums 15 minutes in as it's building, now guitar is added. Guitar becomes very passionate. Piano and electronics take over again before 20 minutes and drums come in a minute later. Processed vocals after 21 1/2 minutes are brief, although they return again briefly 2 minutes later. A hypnotic beat with electronics continues until the song is over.

Funny but my favourite songs are the 4 shortest tracks on here. Maybe that's because they're more like PINEAPPLE THIEF of old, I don't know. Still this is a solid 4 star album but not one of my favourites from the band.

There is nothing revolutionary in this PT album: their music is elegant, accessible, melancholic and nicely formatted. Fine melodies with some nice mellotron and guitar work in the opener "All You Need To Know" which is quite a good start to be honest.

The traditional recipes are served back with enforcement ("I Think That's What You Said") and offers little to be surprised. Again, what I like the most (but is this a surprise?) are the fine mellotron lines which provides a feel from the Scandinavian scene. A good idea, even if used scarcely ("Take Me With You").

This conventional PT album would have been better with some more punch. The long instrumental "West Winds" is rather insignificant and its only purpose was to fill the CD I guess.

All expectations are thrown into the epic and title song, but here again no wonder appears. Just a long and gloomy affair. Of course, this piece do have good qualities (the traditional PT or "Radiohead" ones) but I was waiting for some more to be true. Languishing drum play throughout, pleasant keys and invading screaming guitar are the best ingredients.

PT is not a band that surprises (at least I feel so). They are predictable, but lots of bands are, so I won't be too destructive about this criteria. In all, this album is enjoyable and deserves the three star rating without any doubt. It means that I believe that it is a good album. But not an essential one.

Pineapple Thief comes in that 'new wave' of Progressive Rock that is not Progressive Rock if you know what I mean. I am not really talking about the 70's kind of Prog. I'm talking about not being an Alternative Rock band with lots of Ambient music and many 'plims and ploims' electronic kind of thing. If you like, that's fine for me, but I just can't like it and I'll not force myself into it anymore.

In What We Have Sown (2007) I couldn't find anything special. I couldn't find any memorable song or even daring.

There's a phrase that stuck on my mind while listening, and that's what I have to offer about this album: "Just a cover from Radiohead recorded 10 years after the original".

Vulgar Unicorn was a delightfully crafty and original British group that released a slew of albums between 1995 and 2004 that subsequently vanished into the ether. Headed by multi-instrumentalists Bruce 'Adrian' Soord and Neil Randall , their craft was quite quirky and oft misunderstood by the general prog public but upon closer analysis, records such as 'Jet Set Radio', 'Sleep With the Fishes' and their debut 'Under the Umbrella' were quite ground breaking and often loads of fun. Then, one fine day in 2002, Soord decided to kick off his Pineapple Thief career with the delectable 'Abducting the Unicorn', a rather accurate and seemingly acerbic title in view of the upcoming split between the two VU leaders. I personally love that album a great deal, owning a different sound but still infused with VU cleverness and wit. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, I never could get into 'Variations on A Dream' and have struggled on every revisit ever since, it just won't stick! So I did something quite stupid in retrospect, I gave up on the 'Fruity Robber' and looked elsewhere, in apparent disinterest. I saw the reviews of all their other albums, all this mention of Radiohead and Muse (2 bands I have only cursory knowledge of, as I have not listened to garbage commercial radio for a quarter of a century now!) but nothing could quite enthuse me enough to investigate further. Big mistake, as my recent purchase of a used copy of 'What Have we Sown' penetrated my car stereo with almost palpable ennui and having zero expectations, I was simply bowled over! While certainly more mainstream-oriented than the often odd-ball VU releases, the material nevertheless possesses a smooth and moody yet propulsive quality which my somnolent sensors picked up immediately and I started to fall under the spell of superb melodies, passionate vocals that do remind me of Thom Yorke (I do know what he sounds like) or whichever Gallagher (Liam or Noel, me not know) but also some tremendous bass (Jon Sykes) and fabulous drum support (Keith Harrison) that caught my attention in a great way. The keyboard applications from Steve Kitch are slick, unobtrusive and very modern with oodles of mellotron samples, which will always make my day brighter. That being said, the dual guitars of Wayne Higgins and the master himself (always an outstanding fret boardist) is quite the revelation and propels the arrangements with verve and gusto.

The finale title track is tectonic slab of an epic, clocking in at over 27 minutes and while quite mellow in most parts, the contrasts are always challenging and 'staying on ones toes'-worthy, stretching the sonic envelope and searching out further playing fields. The entire spectrum of emotions are canvased on a rather large screen that never exasperates or even hints at the slightest tinge of boredom, even though things get very mellow and Floydian at times, which is why I refer to this as a worthy modern-day version of 'Echoes'. Lots of moody electronic beeping, robotic sizzles and a massive drum beat really set the pace, evolving, growing, expanding like some experiment gone haywire, very intoxicating indeed. The nasty e-guitar has a sharp metallic tinge, like some chainsaw gone amok, full of effects and mood tones. Haunting and macabre, the atmosphere is frightening at times, stretching the angst until some sinuous vocal-fueled reprieve shows its sweetness where Bruce's voice is eerily reminiscent of Xavier Phideaux, in a most uncanny way. The recurring chorus is addictive to the nth degree, soothing yet disturbing, loaded with overt regret and unmitigated pain. The soaring guitar solo is staggering in its unassuming beauty, insistent and aching, an iconic blast of genius. Steve Kitch then introduces a piano to his already imposing arsenal of ivories and the spellbinding splurge is equally sensational. This is where the slick arrangement takes on mythical proportions, getting very explosive and aggressive, sequencers ablaze with frenzy, the bass guitar up-front and center, carving out a highway to hell on which all instrumental vehicles will follow, chiming 'rifferama' guitars and mind-numbing pounding from the drum kit. Ka-boom! The sonic slow-building crescendo is a piece of art that cannot leave anyone blase! Resourceful synthesizer detailings are added to continually elevate the piece to loftier heights, progressively becoming even more bombastic and uber-symphonic. The gut-wrenching final delivery may also nod towards bands like Anathema, certainly vocally and that steam-roller guitar assault that the Cavanaugh brothers seem to favor. One of the finest epic prog tracks in the 21st Century.

The mightily inspirational and totally proggy 'West Winds' is the other real highlight here, a meticulously sounding hodgepodge of sound textures that induce fantastic images and a sense of musical accomplishment. Entirely instrumental, the piece attempts and succeeds in stamping prog credentials with a zeal that goes beyond the norm. Choppy guitar spasms, torrential synth cubes, sustained notes that glide through the ether, the level of creative genius is just stunning, Morse code synth blurbs, echoed piano, monstrous bass and primeval drum fills all in perfect harmony, preparing the spotlight for some serious guitar acrobatics, rhythm and lead trading shots with brash boldness. Harrison then launches on a tectonic drum volley that is most heavy and doom-laden, spooky keys in tow. A magnificent and modern piece of music that defies description.

The album starts off with some shorter pieces that offer great melodies, powerful guitar barrages and accomplished singing, all held together by some tough bass and drum propulsion. Each piece has a ton of little details that caught me off guard on a constant basis, a propensity to flirting, cajoling and enticing my brain with bejeweled brilliance. 'All You Need to Know' begins immediately with smooth mellotron waves and a spot-on vocal full of trembling emotion and unabashed sincerity ('I never want to know what you mean me'), that grabs hold of your ears and mind and refuses to let go. The arrangement then explodes into this effortless mood, pushed by a simple bass and drum combination, a stinging guitar solo, first oozy and then woozy but short and sweet. Intelligent prog-pop, exquisitely delivered and totally addictive.

The swooning, almost Hindu-tinged 'Well, I Think That's What You Said?' is another heavenly voiced tune, with angelic chorus on one end and some rock-hard driving rhythmic patterns giving this some backbone, a soft-hard rock ballad of the finest ilk, brooding mellotron not far from the edge. The buzzing guitar attack is slashed by repeated zipper-like swaths of synth and various effects that would make vintage Brian Eno proud.

While 'Take Me With You' has a vocal that will undress any indifference, truth is the song is catchy and hummable, basking in outright proggy clothing as the smoking mellotron blasts away, unhinged. Clanging guitars, moody and spectral keyboards, nasty bass ruffle and muscular drums finish the wardrobe. The 'You're the next one to go, take me with you' line is a soporific entreaty that sears the mind into submission, a wholly seductive package and unreservedly convincing. The mid-section gets into some heavy psychedelics, fluffy clouds of sound before the fury erupts and starts the ravaging entire process, I mean =WOW!

Finally, the highly melancholic 'Deep Blue World' is lush with orchestral accouterments, acoustic guitar shuffling the sweet and yet pained voice of Bruce Soord and a practically pastoral sheen, as if the gallant sun was shining though the curtains, warming the heart and comforting the soul. The vocal is truly divine. Harrison shows his mettle with some complex percussives as the heady mellotron squalls kick in.

My copy has two bonus tracks that are welcome additions to the set list, a mesmerizing and unexpected surprise of the highest order. If U2 would have progressed into a progressive band, this is probably how they would have sounded, Bruce Soord is a very talented singer, guitarist and composer. What a fabulous recording, I think I am going to steal some more exotic fruit and pineapples.

5 Occidental gales

The Pineapple Thief's sixth album "What We Have Sown", while considered a regular album, is also made up of songs from different periods in the band's history. It was recorded during the recording of "Tightly Unwound" over an 8 week period. The first three tracks are outtakes from other albums.

"All You Need to Know" is from the "10 Stories Down" sessions. It is pretty much a basic Pineapple Thief track, nothing amazing about it, just basic. "Well, That's What I Think You Said" has a mid-eastern hook played by a violin a the beginning, and is a much better song. It has a "Radiohead" vibe to it. In it's short 5 minute span, it goes from mid tempo, to minimalism, to very upbeat at the end. The same vibe is there for the next track also, "Take Me With You" is a more laid back, mysterious song with some atmospheric guitar. Bruce Soord does a decent Thom Yorke impression in both tracks.

"West Winds" is an instrumental track. We finally get a track that nears the 9 minute mark here as everything prior to this was around 5 minutes. It starts out in a subdued manner with echoing guitars swirling around. Everytime you think things are going to pick up, they end up leading up to a false climax or it doesn't last very long. Not much to get excited about here. "Deep Blue World" continues with the Thom Yorke impression in the vocals and a strumming acoustic guitar, but the strings added in here are a nice touch. Not a bad song with a nice lushness to it, but up to this point, there really isn't anything that's very progressive to get excited about yet.

So, the last track has some promise since it is a 27 minute song called "What We Have Sown?" In the first 5 minutes it changes from spacey, to intense, back to atmospheric again. There are some nice sounds here, and that's before the vocals come in. The beat is rather slow and laid back with Bruce's nice voice pushing things along. There is a "whining" sound that almost sounds like a saw which gives some good atmosphere. Without much change in the first 10 minutes, things just seem to plod along however, no matter how nice it is, it would be good to have some more emotion and mood swings added in. After this, there is a nice guitar solo though, but the beat stays the same. The beat and everything else falls off and there is an ambient section with a low, thumping "electronic" feel, and synths start to add texture. A synthesized percussive sound starts and persists for a while. Finally, at 15 minutes we get some intensity when we get some fuzzy guitar added in and some counter melodies start to take shape. Now it's getting interesting. What's this? Another great guitar solo with supporting keys that almost make things sound industrial. Nice touch. Things reach full intensity when we break out of this at 19 minutes and we are back to ambience again. There are some nice effects against a mid tempo beat, then we get some processed vocals. There are some nice touches in this track, one gets the feeling it plods along too much though. At times it feels like it's just trying to take up time between the good moments. People like to compare this song to "Echoes" by Pink Floyd, but other than length and a few beeping noises, there is no comparison. I get lost so easily in "Echoes" that I don't notice how long it is. In this track, I keep wondering how long it is going to take before the next good thing happens. Not bad, but it could have been trimmed down to 15 minutes and have a better impact.

Overall, this is not a great album for Pineapple Thief, just a good one with a few high points, but not enough. The album was released as a "Thank You" for their old record label, and, quite frankly, it sounds like that, just something nice but not a lot of effort there. 3 stars.

Lemme tell you about the birds and the bees. When a mommy Radiohead and a daddy Porcupine Tree love each other very much they have a Pineapple Thief. Jokes aside, The Pineapple Thief has got to be one of the most interesting bands I have come across due to them sounding like two different bands at the same time and seemingly executing it very well. So far they've released a good number of albums, all of which aren't half bad at all, heck some I might say are dang near amazing. One such album that I think is near the point of being called amazing is What We Have Sown. At this time they had a few songs that were in the vault if you'd say, some were made before this album's conception and was meant to be a love letter to their old label, Cyclops Records before switching to Kscope. Despite the fact these songs were written before, this album feels as original as ever, and that goes hand in hand with the songs found on this release.

The first song is All You Need to Know. Right off the bat you hear the band's more progressive aspect in the mellotron, which distinctly sounds like one Genesis or King Crimson would use with some nice acoustic playing in the back. In the first few minutes you hear some great distinction in the melodies and instruments that you never really see in many bands, especially those that sort combine two styles from two completely different bands. I definitely think they really honed in on what really worked in this style of music and really made it their own, which they had been doing ever since their second release of 137, but here it is extremely present on how good they can be in this sort of style of progressive rock. It's a great song that is both fun in its music and instrumentation, but heavy in its more depressive lyrics.

Next up is Well, I Think That's What You Said? I'd say if the last song was a grand fusion of Radiohead and Porcupine Tree, then this song is more reliant on the Radiohead side. I am definitely getting a lot of Ok Computer and The Bends vibes from this song, lots of technically interesting playing going around here, but the singing is very in tune with that of Thom Yorke's, obviously a little less high pitched. To be honest this is a weaker song on this album due to how it sort of relies on that sound Radiohead did in the 80s and then stopped doing when the 2000s rolled in, but there is still a lot to love on this song, like the drumming. Keith Harrison doesn't utilize a 4/4 beat but rather a (I think) 9/8 beat, which really creates a sort of interesting aspect this song brings to the table, cause it's a bit more pop in nature, but is definitely clearly utilizing and creating something progressive, or alternative. Definitely an interesting song despite its weakness.

Then we get Take Me With You. Now I have been really hammering in the band comparisons to The Pineapple Thief, I mean how could I really not, the singer and guitarist Bruce Soord was inspired by Porcupine Tree for basically the entire history of this band, but likewise so was Steve Wilson with bands like King Crimson or more so, Pink Floyd, which man, this song has a ton of that chill rock Pink Floyd energy. I guess influential Prog bands that start with P have this effect of making really strong slow chill tracks. Anywho, this song has some amazing acoustic work. Very moody in the guitar that goes hand in hand to that very delicate but raw bass playing. This song is just a very amazing moody song that does get a tiny bit experimental to the end. Not too much as to where it basically flips the song on its head, but definitely one where it's a bit unexpected and sorta throws you through a loop.

Next on the track list is West Winds. This is an instrumental track that shows a more experimental side of the band. The use of instruments create this almost foreboding atmosphere in the music, like a hero realizing the villain has got the upper hand and is now losing a battle. That is sorta what this song feels like. A lot of intense drumming and guitar work, not to where it turns to metal, but think of it as a more post rocky type of heavy where you sorta feel it in your head and gut. I get some small Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai vibes from this song. It's nicely done and gives a lot more atmosphere to this album.

Next song is Deep Blue World. This is a mostly acoustic song with drumming only coming in towards the end. It's very elegant in how it is played. The acoustic and the singing really give off this somber vibe through the song. Plus the violin work makes this song almost gives this song a sort of old Prog vibe as well, like almost a I Talk To The Wind feel where it's super somber but also very pretty. I do however feel the drumming at the end was very unnecessary and just slapped on for filler really. Honestly this track would be so much better without that ending with the drums. I get leaving a track with an ending of sorts, but many acoustic songs, whether they are pop or alt, work well without drums since they aren't needed with drums most of the time, and if you are going for a beat, maybe make it a bit more tribal sounding like on Biko by Peter Gabriel. It's definitely a more minute thing, but the song would be so much without it that I gotta address it.

And now the last song, the big 27 minute epic. What Have We Sown? Despite being Prog, The Pineapple Thief isn't really a band known for their epics. They are more of the shorter song band where their shorter works stand out, as opposed to their longer ones. I am not saying they can't craft a long song, obviously they can, but when I think of The Pineapple Thief, I think more so on their single digit minute songs that are more 1-9 minutes long, as opposed to songs like this that take a whole side on a record. Besides that, this song is actually pretty nice. It goes more towards an industrial rock sound, as opposed to a more softer rock style, giving this song a more metal flair to it. You can tell some industrial rock groups they probably saw inspired a lot of this song, and I think it works well with the sound the band usually has, while being different enough to where it's distinct. But as I said before, they are not a band that relies off of epics like many modern Prog bands do, because this song doesn't really have that epic ending where you feel like you've just gone through a wild journey. It definitely does have something of an ending but even their shorter songs have more grand endings than this. Despite all of that, it's definitely worth your time and can be a fun song to hear once in a while if I am being perfectly honest. A good closer to a great album.

So while not perfect, this album definitely gives a ton of great songs to enjoy, and I never feel as if my time gets wasted whenever I hear this album. I'd say give this release and basically the entirety of The Pineapple Thief a shot if you like the styles of Porcupine Tree and Radiohead.