THE INCIDENT

PORCUPINE TREE's 10th studio album is probably one of the best albums of 2009. When I first heard they were going to include a 55-minute epic, I was pleasantly suprised. When I got my copy I decided to not listen to it very much, since I were going to see them live next week, and I heard that they would play the whole first disc.After the gig I've started to listen to it more, and it's a really good one. It's relativetly easy to get into. Just after a few listen I thought that it sound like a future classic.

Let's get to the music. It's certainly Porcupine Tree, but it has it's own sound. The fist influences that I detect are Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead. Otherwise, it's pretty much the alternative/prog sound of PT. The tracks on disc 1 flow together nicely, but there are very few recuring themes. There are still a few tracks that could be played separately, like the catchy Drawing the Line and the "hit single" Time Flies. Stand-out pieces on Disc 1 are The Blind House, the title track, and the section of tracks 11-12-13.

Let's not forget disc 2, a ep length disc with four tracks. The four tracks actually would have gone on the first disc (55 + 20 min), but SW wanted them to be on their own disc. The tracks here are nothing very special. Remember Me Lover is a pretty standard (by that meaning very good) PT. The best track here is however Bonnie the Cat. The first part is mostly bass and drums, that create a dark Singify-ish atmosphere, later there's a Meshuggah inspired heavy section. The other tracks sound like some OK tracks from the Stupid Dream/Lighbulb Sun period.

In conclusion, it's definitely a very good PT album. I'll give it 4,5 stars, and rounded off to 4 because it's VERY good, but not a masterpiece. Must-have for all fans still. Your PT collection is not complete without The Incident.

Hope that they will release a 5.1 edition soon, other than the super expensive one.