THE INCIDENT

The controversy, the controversy. PT still constitute the absolute zenith of music in my eyes and, if The Incident is disappointing, it says much about the standards Wilson has imposed on us. My rating oscillates frequently between 4 and 5 [insert obligatory comment about "4.5"]. I freely concede it's the weakest Porcupine Tree album since at least Stupid Dream, but leagues better than anything PT put out before 1998. In terms of the multiplicities of criticisms it has faced: alright, "55-minute song" was misdirection, and without it, the bifurcation into two discs is unnecessary, but it has enough recurring musical and thematic motifs to qualify as at least linked, without being repetitive, answering the two (incompatible) charges levelled at it. Yes, it sold faster than any previous PT release, but that says more about anticipation and FOABP than this album, surely? More to the point, it did so despite being the least commercially-oriented record since Signify. This is so far from a collection of pop songs. It's dense, extremely dark, sprawling and challenging. It recycles old ideas? Up to a point; it still pushes the Porcupine Tree sound into new areas (the title track in particular), and it's worth considering that the album's structure and make-up turns its back on the pattern running through previous releases. Turning to the song cycle itself, we have 14 tracks, mostly in suite, with 6 main compositions and 8 auxiliary interludes. Of the former, "The Blind House" and "Octane Twisted" are probably the weakest, typifying the quintessential soft-explosive PT formula, although the former offers a few tantalising hooks and the latter an intriguing acoustic motif. Nevertheless, these tracks ultimately fall outside of what one might reasonably consider 'essential'. The title track has its moments, and the "I want to be loved" refrain attains a creepiness on this record that no other PT release would really afford it (except, thinking about it, In Absentia, on which it would have become the creepiest refrain ever?), but, most importantly, displays a NEW DIRECTION, the volatile industrial dirge that defined "Insurgentes", Wilson's solo debut of the previous year, and the logical conclusion of Porcupine Tree, some might argue. The remaining three 'longs' are all extremely strong. With considerable regret, "Drawing the Line" gets daubed as the weakest of the three, with the wickedly gothic lyrics of the verses unmatched in the repetitive chorus (that being said, the chorus' "cinematic but crude" anthemic desperation is criminally underrated by those who cry "indie rock"). The overall instrumentation and sonic palette, particularly before the first chorus, is exceptional, as good as anything else in the PT discography. "I Drive the Hearse" is heartbreaking, an acoustic lamentation, a nursery rhyme for the clinically depressed, an extraordinary closer. Most strikingly, it largely revolves around major chords, making the subject matter (in short, "when she cries, I take the blame") even more haunting. And then, the 12-minute piece-de-resistance in the middle. I've reviewed this track in more depth as a single; suffice to say, it's a masterpiece, its more-than-passing resemblance to classics heightens, rather than poisons, its appeal, and it still sets the benchmark for wistful nostalgic melancholia. The transitions are more hit-and-miss. I can't pretend to be a huge fan of riffs, so when I hear Circle of Manias dismissed as second-rate TOOL, the "TOOL" comparison is more off-putting than the second-rate business. Kneel and Disconnect and "Yellow Windows?" are both pretty but hardly world-beating (although, again, that says more about Wilson's standards). On the other hand, Great Expectations is classic youth-gone-wrong Wilsonian summery prettiness, while Degree Zero of Liberty takes the slightly underwhelming opening crashes of Occam's Razor and makes them interesting. As for the second disc, allegedly emphasising the coherency of the cycle for those whose eyebrows remain raised and doubts indelible, the songs are mixed. Flicker and Black Dahlia are pretty and oddly moving (particularly the latter), if forgettable, Bonnie the Cat seems to enjoy a mixed reception; I'm going with the "bit of an industrial mess" camp. Then, "the last Porcupine Tree song", and it's a good one. A stadiumesque, anthemic triumphalism pervades the choruses, but "We Are The Champions" this is not; an extraordinary victory lap with the most caustic bitterness of Wilson's career. I have never heard a career closer approaching this in quality (if King Crimson hadn't reformed in the '80s, then of course "Starless" would have taken that title). And then that's that. Although The Incident was written during considerable in-group tension, this isn't the sound of a band collapsing; it's the sound of a band that, perhaps, has lost confidence in its future, so pulls a final trick that's not so much experimentation, not leaping to a new place, but digging down into the depths of its dark sound (apologies for the alliteration). Four stars. 10/10 ? Time Flies 9.5/10 ? I Drive the Hearse, Remember Me Lover 9/10 ? Drawing the Line, Great Expectations 8.5/10 ? Black Dahlia, Degree Zero of Liberty, The Incident 8/10 ? The Séance, Octane Twisted 7.5/10 - Flicker, Your Unpleasant Family, Occam's Razor, The Blind House 7/10 ? Kneel and Disconnect, Bonnie the Cat, The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train 6.5/10 ? Circle of Manias