NIL RECURRING

The release of FoaBP was soon followed by an EP with recordings from the same sessions. With 28 minutes it's a decent length EP that unfortunately has been priced as a full length CD. I wouldn't blame the band for this, but it sure strikes me as an inappropriate attempt to cash in on the success of the main album.

Now, on to the music. Nil Recurring is a co-operation with Robert Fripp. It is slightly more jazzy and experimental then the normal PT song and many parts of it wouldn't have been out of place on recent King Crimson or ProjecKt releases. Fripp adds a frenzied attack of dissonant noise at the end of the track. Amazing piece of music. 5 stars

Normal is an extended version of Sentimental from FoaBP. The alternative arrangement of that track sounds awfully awkward. The heavy guitars don't fit, the drum beat is rather bland and the string arrangement out of place. The stripped-down version that ended up on FoaBP is much better. The second half is new material but not very inspired. 2 stars.

After this dip, we're in for a treat. Both Cheating The Polygraph and What Happens Now? should have featured on the main album and would have worked much better for me then Way Out Of Here and Sleep Together, which lacked a bit of edge on the studio album. Cheating The Polygraph is a typical modern PT track, with atmospheric dreamy verses, a heavy chorus and rousing instrumental parts. 4 stars.

What Happens Now? is the magnum opus of this EP. Really, I don't know any band in rock history that has such quality material as a mere 'leftover' from the studio albums. This one track is better then some other band's entire albums. 5 stars.

If this EP proves one thing it is that PT were at the creative highpoint of their heavy style in 2007. Except for Normal, nothing is inferior to FoaBP. Some of it works even better for me. It rates as excellent for me and won't disappoint any FoaBP fan. This is just an EP though, so I'll opt for the 3 stars.