LOVE, FEAR AND THE TIME MACHINE

The Incident: So here is Steve Wilson sitting in a boardroom (a bored room?), informing his esteemed Porcupine Tree colleagues that time has come to 'erase the hand' and 'move on' (just like 'she' did), putting the mercurial band on hold, for who knows how long . Bassist Colin Edwin just smirks and smiles like he always does, the perennial Mr.Chill, while Richard Barbieri mumbles an 'Alright then!' and moves to Japan. Drummer extraordinaire Gavin Harrison turns Crimson and the King barely shrugs as he never has experienced unemployment anyway. 'My perfect life would be to go solo and do my own thing, lads but not to worry, I found the right band to continue our style. These Polish dudes Riverside have always copied us, well, they are free to do so now'. Wilson leaves the room with 'Bonnie the Cat', 'Even Less' irritated than when he had ordered a 'Lightbulb Sun', earlier in the day. Oh well'..

Mariusz Duda is no dummy, savvy enough to know that chess is quite popular in Central and Eastern Europe, so every move has a counter move, no? 'Don't Hate Me' he is heard humming smartly, he will play his tune regardless, being a Lunatic Soul. After a deluge of soft albums followed by hard ones, looks like Riverside has gone 'Hatesong' with their latest offering 'Love, Fear and the Time Machine', a sideway sashay that will please some fans and enrage others. The harsh guitar metal onslaught is nowhere to be heard, the growling silliness is completely erased and the mood is way more melodic (read: accessible) than ever before. The songs are also way shorter, more succinct and to the point, the instrumental fat trimmed off completely. Disappointing? Not really and let me explain why. The melodies are magnificent and the delivery is simply first class. It must be said that this sounds more like Duda's solo work (Lunatic Soul) at times but with a little less contemplation and way more approachability. Also it's perhaps more feminine and less masculine than , say 'Anno Domini', for sure. There is very little doubt that a gemstone song like 'Time Travellers' could and should be a hit by any existing standard, armed as it is with the deadliest of melodies. The heartfelt chorus is utterly genial and the entire experience is one of classic prog perfection. 'Let's go back to the world that was 30 years ago and let's believe this is our time' repeated often enough to be seared into the brain, a pastoral and jazzy backdrop, gently rippling organ rolling in the grooves. Timeless indeed.

Funny that the first song is entitled 'Lost' and the final one, 'Found', definitely proof of their detail-oriented shrewdness, a band that has reached maturity. 'Lost' is a vaporous lullaby, swirls of mood that again wink at Porcupine Tree's 'Lazarus' when the following lyric parallels the latter ( 'Come, follow me down where the river flows'), a coincidence ? No, just an 'Incident'! One is a valley, the other a river, how quaint'.The guitar solo is wavy, bright and suave, a simple glide down the neck and thrills galore.

The brooding 'Under the Pillow' opens the proceedings with a convincing rant that offers clanging guitar and Mariusz' defiantly soft voice, a sinewy atmosphere that sounds closer to old REM or the Church, slashed by a buzzing axe furrow and an insistent chorus that repeats the title. Yeah, 'watching too much daytime TV' can kill you indeed! This also has a definite PTree stylistic feel, mostly due to the voice that does sound quite similar to Mr. Wilson's. A churning Hammond blast gives this a lovely sheen what with Duda's thick bass scouring the lower ledge with authority. Great song, must be said. Another winner is '#Addicted' , pumped along with a bopping bassline that only serves to elevate the thrilling melody, a musical universe where fragility and despair coalesce, throwing in some harsher guitar notes, relentless drumming and Duda's seductive croon ruling the waves. Great song again.

The mysteriously muted 'Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire' begins generously minimalistic with bass and voice leading the charge, later joined by binary drum fills and a rattling guitar adornment. The organ does provide some brooding melancholy, a perfect foil for the otherwise gloomy trust lyrics. The restrained and crystalline axe solo is simple and yet effective. The finale is suitably grandiose and aggressive but more like insistent then say, noisy. Great stuff, really.

The pieces that are closest to classic Riverside are the longer ones like the moody 'Saturate Me' and the cyclically vaporous 'Towards the Blue Horizons', both extremely evocative with a sizeable amount of instrumental preponderance, giving guitarist Grudzinski and ivory man Lapaj (who truly shines throughout this release) room to roam and 'dream on'. These will please the fans without any hesitation, a cool duo of stalwart music that hits the spot. Both are killer!

The big surprise is the thrilling 'Discard Your Fear' , a lament that fits more into the Steve Wilson mode, bopping bass leading the charge, massive mood changes (Lapaj again) and convincing delivery by all. At times brooding, greasy and urban, they aggress nicely towards a Killing Joke 'Love like Blood' riff before going 'Insurgentes'. The axe rages loudly and resonates wildly, a very impressive display by Mr Grudzinski, indeed! Duda's fragile vocals are intuitive and breathless. Amazing!

The finale is 'Found' and it succeeds as a glorious wave goodbye, until the next time, whichever the Riverside wind may blow. The mood is climactic, 'Oooh It's a lovely life'' pointing towards some future bliss. Some hard-core fans will be disappointed but I say just raise the volume to louder, as the production and sound is clearly top notch and let the caress begin.

4.5 polished Poles