TIGHTLY UNWOUND

I have been a fan of The Pineapple Thief since I saw them in 2005 at the Marillion weekend where I thought they were the best band there after Marillion themselves! On record I have not been so sure. 10 stories down was a solid album but the songs were too accoustic for my taste. Little Man was an improvement and quite a bit heavier in places. I missed What we have sown but saw this on I-tunes and bought the download. I have had it on my ipod and my mobile phone playing almost constantly for the last month so I now feel I am ready to review it objectively.

My Debt To You starts the album slowly and builds quite beatifully.

Shoot First is a much heavier composition and races along at a fiar lick. I am informed by the band that it will be released as a single on 28th July 2008!

Sinners is more like previous TPT tracks but with more emphasis on the electric guitar and one of my favorites from the album. I would have thought it was a better choice for a single.

Tightly Wound starts with a simple accoustic guitar and Bruce Soords delicate vocals. It slowly bulds into a song with a little menace to it. Multi track vocals and some strings help the build but it is when the guitar kicks in that this song really shows it's teeth. Guitar solo's are not Bruce's strong point but the solos on this album suit the songs perfectly.

The Sorry State is an introspective song which keeps promising a power chord but which keeps it in check until it seems to tail off at the end and then some orchestral melodies play the song out. Different to the rest of the album!

My Bleeding Hand takes some of the lyric ques from Tightly Unwound but the song is a much bleaker affair with quite a lot of bite to it. Compared to the rest of the album's shorter songs this is a tour-de- force. The drums shine on this track and it starts strong and just keeps building. The final guitar crecendo rips through and then stops suddenly. Great stuff!

Different World is the first of TPT's epic songs on this album. Just under 11 minutes it is a showcase on how to build melody and like Gazpacho's Night album it shows how to be almost hypnotic in song structure.

And So Say All Of You is another one of Bruce's bile spitters. Not as strong as My Bleeding Hand but a solid effort.

Album closer Too Much To Lose is a 15 minute epic which should please most prog fans but I found it's structure very similat to Different World.

Musically and lyrically Bruce is inspired by Radiohead and Porcupine Tree. Whether you think TPT are better depends on your own opinion. My view is that I prefer them to Radiohead and although Previous albums have been inferior to Porcupine Tree, I actually like Tightly Unwound much more that anything Steve Wilson's band have produced.

So, A band that are continually improving, are great live, and overall this is highly reccommended.