STUPID DREAM

More melodic and ecstatic than previous albums, Stupid Dream is without doubt an excellent psychedelic rock record and the pattern for the following album - Lightbulb Sun. Having reviewed the 2000 release earlier, most of the things that I had to say were written there. However, Stupid Dream doesn't lack innovations in the music of Porcupine Tree. Steven Wilson is a faultless producer and this album stands for that. There's a great clarity in the music, quality which is difficultly tangible since Porcupine Tree is a band that focuses more on textures, samples and effects rather than classical instrument play. But that's not to say Porcupine Tree is an electronica band, they seem to find the balance between good compositions and great sound engineering in a way that both of them are equally important. For a group that has it's way with synth keys and samplers there's always this tendency of letting the unconventional sounds flow around the musical atmosphere without disturbing them or playing them on keys. (or whatever other instrument). Appreciable at Porcupine Tree is the fact that they do the exact opposite thing. Many songs, like Don't Hate Me, have the structure of a jazz improvisation although no one plays anything very related to jazz. The song begins with the bass playing it's repetitive sequence and, as the song progresses, more and more elements are added, these elements not being simple sounds but engineered sounds that are used on the keyboard so that the band may play them as you play a classical piano. As mentioned earlier, there's nothing new about this method, it's the way Porcupine Tree do it. It's not a matter of technical experimentation, but a matter of quality. Although not e genuine hard rock band, Porcupine Tree has great hard rock riffs, although not a industrial band, Porcupine Tree has the greatest samples, although not a drum and bass band, Porcupine Tree has a fascinating bass - drums collaboration. What I don't particularly enjoy about Stupid Dream is the vocals. Not that Wilson has a bad technique, I just don't like his voice that much.

Pink Floyd is a big influence for Porcupine Tree and Porcupine Tree is also influential for bands like Riverside and Opeth.

4 stars for this one, I was expecting more complexity in the song writing and more guts (yes, they seem rather shy when they must take the lead with their instruments, the quality of the sound being higher than the quality of the execution).