HEAVEN TASTE

Despite being labeled here as a studio album, this is an EP. It collects various NO-MAN tracks, presenting them in support of the epic 20-minute dance track, 'Heaven Taste'.

This recording is not quite the treat for prog fans it seems on the surface - "ooh look, a 20-minute STEVEN WILSON track!" Nope, this is trance and dance music, albeit more sophisticated than that spooned out on Ibiza.

The supporting tracks are as well-crafted and inward-looking as one would expect. NO-MAN have a unique chemistry, and these tracks express it well. 'Bleed' is the best of them, though it has appeared on CD before this, on 1993's 'Sweetheart Raw' single. This version has an added dance section at the end.

Good as it is, I'm not entirely convinced by the title track. The ten-minute edit on their recent anthology 'All the Blue Changes' captures the spirit of the track, and flows more coherently than does this original version. In my view this track shares something in common with 'The Sky Moves Sideways', though it is on the dance side of the fence. It's not insignificant that this was released in the same year as that PORCUPINE TREE album. 'Heaven Taste' has a true space-rock feel - but then, so does a whole genre of dance music. If you like this, trust me, you have a great deal of music to discover.

Here NO-MAN paint on a wide canvas. It would be the last time they did so until 2003.