IN ABSENTIA

This was my first Porcupine Tree album, other than a tape of one of the early albums that a friend gave me. And I must say, the songs themselves just don't thrill me. On the other hand, Steven Wilson's arrangements just blow me away. Every so often, when listening to this album, I find myself thinking that this tune sounds too much like plain alternative rock, or that song just doesn't interest me. Then, something thrown into the mix just strikes a chord with me, and I find myself really liking the song that a moment ago seemed to be going nowhere. It appears that Wilson has an encyclopia-like knowledge of different musical styles, there's that much in there.

After many listens, the only song that doesn't grab me is Prodigal, which, for some reason, evokes Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay in my mind.