CLOSURE/CONTINUATION

Today, I'll be taking a deep dive into Closure / Continuation, the eleventh studio album from Porcupine Tree, whom I featured a few weeks ago in my other series, Scott's Spotlight (#scottsspotlight). This album's release in 2022 really shook the prog fandom, as it seemed like Porcupine Tree were a thing of the past, while the members were involved in various other bands and projects after they went on hiatus following 2009's "The Incident" (Reviewed here on PA). Steven Wilson (Guitar/Vocals/Multi-instrumentalist) released several solo albums, remixed many classic prog albums, and was involved in other projects?does the man ever sleep? Richard Barbieri (Keyboards) had a number of collaborations with other prog musicians. Colin Edwin (bass) among other things, formed the band O.R.k. Which featured King Crimson alumnus Pat Mastellotto on drums. Drummer Gavin Harrison became a member of King Crimson, as well as The Pineapple Thief. With all of that activity, no one suspected that 3 of the 4 members were secretly collaborating (for a decade!) on this album (Colin Edwin was not specifically excluded. As I understand it, but he never chose to be involved).

Let's jump in and see what Closure/Continuation (AKA P/T C/C on the album cover) is all about.

Track 1 - Harridan

The song begins with a bass riff from Wilson, who is credited with all of the bass parts on the album, with Harrison joining in on drums. This song may well have been the beginnings of this album, as it started in a jam session between Wilson & Harrison (with Wilson playing bass). Barbieri joins in with some keyboard textures and the vocals follow, with an effect on the voice. More instruments join as the music gets suddenly louder at around 1:15. The basis of the song is the bass & drum groove. The choruses have guitar and are more dynamic. There is a more mellow bridge around 2:40. After a brief pause, heavy guitar bass & drums comes in at around 3:15. Following that there is a part that reminds me of the earlier PT song "Halo." The heavier guitar riffs alternate with the "Halo"-like part. Between 4:30 and 5 minutes, they transition to a different groove that isn't as heavy. Harrison's drums in this song are amazing. Barbieri is present but keeps a low profile on this one. At around 6:30, the chorus abruptly returns. At around 7:15 the music gets much quieter, and Wilson sings softly with acoustic guitar and keyboard accompaniment. Quiet sound effects close this great track out.

Track 2 - Of the New Day

Clean, strummed electric guitar and Wilson's vocals start things off at a moderately slow tempo. Subtle keyboards join on the second half of the verse. Bass and drums join in for the second verse. So far this has been a fairly simple, yet nice, ballad. However, we didn't think it would stay like this for long, did we? At around 2:00 A heavy riff comes in and the signature PT sound takes over for an instrumental break. Things come back down for another verse following that. Then the heavier part comes back again. The meters keep changing here. Things mellow out for the song's closing. Nice track.

Track 3 - Rats Return

This one fades in with sound effects. At about 28 seconds they kick in with a tight riff. Just before 1 minute in, the instruments quiet down and vocals begin with an effect on the voice. Between verses, Barbieri plays some slightly dissonant keyboard lines. The effect on the vocals is removed in the next part of the verse, and the riff jumps in hard right at 2 minutes. Barbieri provides some textures over the rhythm. On the next verse, the effect returns and there are some cool drum effects between phrases. The effect disappears again, and the riff comes back. A bridge happens as the music gets quieter. The bridge names some infamous dictators in world history. The riff keeps coming back, but it's an awesome one. The song ends as it began with sound effects fading out. Classic PT.

Track 4 - Dignity

This song fades in as well, but with keyboard sounds. At around 45 seconds, however, a chimey electric guitar arpeggio riff begins. This leads to a drum fill and the first verse in a gentle 6-8. Excellent harmony vocals at 1:28. The next verse comes in similar to the first one. Nice electric piano from Barbieri. The keyboards have more presence on this one compared to the previous one and get a feature at around 3 minutes. Wilson's bass playing is featured along with lush keyboards and smooth drumming. The music pauses at around 4:35. There are very quiet sustained sounds until around 5 minutes, when Wilson begins to sing very softly. At around 5:20, he plays some clean guitar lead lines with a very subtle beat underneath. The next verse is accompanied with piano and is only a bit louder. Classic PT vocal harmonies join in as the volume goes up another notch and more instruments join in. The sound is beautiful at around 7 minutes. The arpeggiated riff from earlier returns, but this time it is repeated and has some variations over a nice strong rhythm. The music crescendos as we go along. Outstanding track.

Track 4 - Herd Culling

An odd metered riff on guitar & drums starts us off here. Vocals soon join in. Be careful if you turned the volume up at the soft beginning, as you'll get blown away at just before 1:30! The riff gets LOUD and heavy! It drops way back down just prior to two minutes. The cycle happens again. At 3:15 or so though the rhythm changes to 6-8 and patented PT vocal harmonies join in. It reminds me a little of "Lazarus." The dynamic shifts here are very wide. They make us "shiver with antici - - - - - - pation," as a pregnant pause happens from 5:12-5:19 but we just know an explosion is coming, don't we? And of course, Wilson & co deliver! The meters are complex and changing as Wilson plays a guitar solo over the prog-tastic riffing. Things pause yet again around 6:20. This time low sustained sounds take us to the ending. This was a very exciting track!

Track 5 - Walk the Plank

This one begins with almost underwater sounding keyboards and subtle drumbeats. I think that's the idea as the vocals join in and say "This ship is now underwater?" After the line "and my span, it gets shorter," a louder bass voice says "1, 2, 3." The rhythm begins to get more solid at around 50 seconds after a drum fill and the dynamic level rises. The bass is featured around 1:20. There are some hip-hop type drum effects between vocal phrases. The chorus hits at 2 minutes. At around 2:30, the bass line reminds me of the Bob Marley tune of "Get Up, Stand Up." This one never seems to establish too much of a groove except for in the choruses. While there are some truly interesting things happening here, this has been my least favorite track on the album so far. The "1, 2, 3," thing happens again as the track ends.

Track 6 - Chimera's Wreck

This is the longest track on the album at 9:39 and the final track of the standard edition of the album. As has been the pattern on this album, the song begins softly. Quiet guitar and keyboard parts slowly fade in. Vocals join quietly at around the 1-minute mark. A gentle rhythm is established by 1:20 and the song gradually crescendos. The beat double-times at around 2 minutes, but the song is still pretty quiet. There is a call and response pattern in the second verse. A bass pattern comes in at around the 4-minute mark, along with some drum fills and then a stronger beat. This song is a very slow burn. A porgy, very Rush-like riff comes in at around 5:20 (think "Natural Science"). The music finally cuts loose around 5:40 with some chord-riffing. The Rush-style riff returns a bit heavier now. Wilson then goes into a wah-wah frenzy of a solo at 6:18. To add to the Rush feel, Wilson's bass part is very Geddy-like under the solo. Things ease off a bit at around 6:40. I believe this is a sampled voice used for a tone on a keyboard solo. Harrison's drums are cookin' underneath it all. A restrained vocal part comes in at around 7:45, with proggy rhythms underneath. Things open back up at 8:15. I love the riffs here near the end of the song, but then, just vocals and keys take a phrase or two. They are followed by some eerie sound effects to close it out.

BONUS TRACKS:

I debated reviewing these, but I think I will as I'm guessing many of those who would read this have versions of the album that include them.

Track 7 - Population Three

This one is listed as an instrumental. It comes out of the gate right away after a very brief fade in with a big intro. Then we get eerie and sinister sounding riffs. Harrison is all over the kit! At around 1:20 they lock into a very PT groove. This seems to be alternating between free-er time sections and steadier sections. Structurally, it reminds me of "Wedding Nails." At 3:28, Wilson establishes a new riff on the guitar and then the band follows suit. Barbieri is such a great textualist on the keyboards. They lock into another nice groove at 5:40 or so. This is a great PT instrumental that has a big finish!

Track 8 - Never Have

Barbieri starts this one off with an arpeggio style piano riff to be soon joined by vocals. Harrison establishes a beat and the band kicks in high gear at around 1 minute. Harmony vocals soar over the riff. We are in 5-8 for much of this one. After a quieter part, Wilson plays a tremolo-picked solo. The music gets quieter after that and then there is an instrumental break. There is a very cool melody around 3:20. I love the sound of this one. Wilson, of course, is a fantastic producer. There are several layers of sounds here, but everything is clean. Great track

Track 9 - Love in the Past Tense.

A soft but busy guitar part with keyboard accompaniment initiates the festivities on the final track. Harrison comes in at around 30 seconds, but it's call and response between instruments and vocals. Lots of interesting polyrhythms at around 1:30. Stellar vocal harmonies as always. This one also is mostly in 5-8. A big change at around 4:10 as we go into 4-4. A lot of PT's greatness is in the way they paint with sounds, and this song is a great example. I am very glad that I chose to include the bonus tracks in my review as I really enjoyed all of them.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

What a great comeback for Porcupine Tree! The only track I didn't like as well was "Walk the Plank," but I didn't outright hate it either. As I said above, the "bonus tracks" were as strong as the rest of the album. I hope that anyone who bought the standard version will seek those three songs out. Wilson and Harrison seem to have been the main instigators of this album, and it shows that Barbieri came in later. His presence isn't felt much on some of the earlier tracks, but it seemed to grow as the album progressed. While I do miss Colin Edwin's bass style, Wilson did a great job on the bass. He uses a more cutting tone than Edwin typically does. I am not sure if he played with a pick or his fingers, but it really cuts through the mix. All in all, though, this has been a wonderful listening experience. I'll give it a 4.25 out of 5. I hope that they return with more band efforts as Wilson has resumed his solo career with "The Harmony Codex," which I intend to review soon.

Clicked 4, but really 4.25.