FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET

Porcupine Tree would have written some of the most memorable music that I have heard in recent memory. Having said that, it took me longer to get into their most recent album FOABP but ultimately it was worth it. There is a Floydesque attitude in the lyrics and the first four songs on the album are infused with enough of the usual PT creative output to satisfy any fan of the band and even tempt new ones. The difficulty for me in giving it higher than 4 stars is the last two songs on the album. To me there is a definite weakness in the compositions here that even the legendary production values of Steve Wilson could not overcome. There is a blandness to Way out of Here and Sleep Together that bring this album down to a 3.5 value.