STUPID DREAM

Here's an in-depth of this excellent CD:

Even Less is a nice way to start it. (It's also currently up on the player for you to listen to right now) It's a slow sort of pop ballad in which lyrics suggest themes of equality and others. The lyrics are top notch throughout the album.

Piano Lessons is a tongue in cheek poppy song, which really catchy and probably the most instantly recognisable songs on the album.

Stupid Dream is simply a bridge joining the last song with the next one.

Pure Narcotic is similar to Piano Lessons, and it seems like the bridge of the last track sort of makes them like one song, even though the lyrics are completely different. It's probably not intended to seem like that, but nevertheless it sounds pretty cool. Very catchy.

Slave Called Shiver is a slightly more upbeat song, which continues the catchy pop feel of the album. It's excellent.Sounds quite like Halo from their latest album, Deadwing.

Don't Hate Me is the longest song on the album, but just because this is the case doesn't mean it's prog. It's just a long song, with a minor tone. The chorus is the highlight of this one.

This Is No Rehearsal is a cool little song with some nice awkward drumming. It's still some of their most poppy stuff yet. Think "The Sound Of Muzak" from In Absentia, they're quite similar to each other.

Baby Dream In Cellephaneis a minor sounding song. It's probably the weakest song on the record, and the most boring one. The only weaker link in the chain, although it still stands alone in its own right as a good song.

Stranger By The Minute has got another catchy chorus, and it's got a cool solo at the end.

A Smart Kid is another sort of "depressive pop song" from the album. It's god a cool little metaphor story in the lyrics.

Tinto Brass is one of their cool inrtumentals. It's the heaviest song on the album, and is pretty chaotic. Very, very cool.

Stop Swimming is a bleak outro, but a nice little way to end the album.

Overall, this is a really impressive album, and one of PT's strongest. It's their poppiest one to date, and probably the most mainstream sounding, though all the songs have their extremely credible production values and layering to make them stand out on their own right. If you get it' the version you'll end up with will probably be the rereleased version which came out this year. This is an even better reason to own the albu, as you get a bonus DVD with the whole album in DVD-A format (you can buy Deadwing on DVD- A full price!) and the video for Piano Lessons, which is pretty funny. It's also got the lyrics on the DVD along with some extras, like photos.

A really good purchase, and it's a good starting point with the band. It's not prog, like a lot of PT stuff (excluding Voyage 34 and The Sky Moves Sideways, which are extremely Floyd inspired and influenced) but it's a really good "thinking out of the box" pop-rock album. If you want their Prog stuff, try TSMS first, then V34.

But if you just want a really good catchy album that'll dominate your stereo for a while, go for this. Anyone could instantly like it.

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