LIGHTBULB SUN

My introduction to PORCUPINE TREE was Lightbulb Sun, a record my father had picked out for me some years ago when he was searching for some modern prog music. I am ever so grateful for the discovery as it is still my favourite PORCUPINE TREE record and one of my favourite prog albums altogether.

What makes this record so great is the unique, kind of rusty, sound and the excellent production; the tracks are complex, though easy to listen to. The album keeps growing and new musical paths are being explored for every listen. Almost an hour of masterful and original music by the English quartet who moved away from the clean and more straightforward (in a PORCUPINE TREE kind of way) work of 'Stupid Dream'.

The coherence of the record is brilliantly done. It really is ten tracks that takes you into another dimension. The short, quiet tracks in 'How Is Your Life Today?', 'The Rest Will Flow' and 'Where We Would Be' mixed in between seven of the strongest tracks to come out of PORCUPINE TREE (to date) links the album perfectly together into an orgy of beautiful, well-composed and, plain simple, excellent progressive rock.

There are no weak tracks on this album, no fillers, and there are plenty of highlights. The title-track (with its unpredictability), 'Shesmovedon' (with its perfect guitar solo), 'Hatesong' (with its strong and aggressive message in both lyrics and music) and the melancholic end to the album, 'Feel So Low', which burns all the way into the listener's soul, are amongst the absolute highlights of the record.

The highlight, however, has to be 'Russia on Ice'. The 12-minute track takes you on a musical journey from soft, melancholic tunes through a brilliant, rhythmic phase to a dark, gloomy and heavy ending which leaves you stunned and unable to resist hitting the repeat button!

Lightbulb Sun might end on a low, but you will end on a high after listening to this album. The temporary peak of PORCUPINE TREE's career (I know a lot of you will disagree) though they have come close in recent years. Underrated by many; this is a masterpiece of progressive rock music.

Highly recommended!

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