TOGETHER WE'RE STRANGER

No-Man are again a duo, with just a few guests, and there cannot be many bands that have been going fifteen years let alone recording while one of the members is also in a slightly more well-known outfit. Tim Bowness provides the vocals, while Steve Wilson provides all of the instruments and if anyone thinks that this might just sound anything like Porcupine Tree are very much mistaken. This is an album that sees the band really push Tim's vocals to the front, while the music swirls, moves and shifts behind. It is almost New Age at times but there is always a slight hint of menace that drives away the saccharine.

It becomes an album that is timeless, ageless, modern yet harkening back to the Seventies. There are Floydian touches but no-one could ever think that they are copyists. There can be just a gentle piano chord, followed by a line of sung melody. There are songs that are heart- achingly beautiful that if edited might even stand a chance in the charts. It is almost as if their previous albums have been leading up to this, as if Steven has managed to exorcise heavier demons with Porcupine Tree and here has come home to provide a stark view of what can be done. If these guys were designers then they would be minimalist, of that there is no doubt. This is not an album to jump into, you must be prepared to sit back and let it all wash over you (oh and don't turn up the volume at the end of "Things I Want To Tell You" like I did, otherwise you will jump out of your skin when the next song starts). Superb.

Originally appeared in Feedback #73, Jun 03