DEADWING

Prog critics raved about Deadwing when it came out, and I can't blame them - it's a really tight album which carries forward the advances in Porcupine Tree's sound first put forth on In Absentia. But I don't think it's quite the five-star classic it's sometimes made out to be; the pacing of the album flags a little for me in the second half, though it's made up a bit by the last two songs (The Start of Something Beautiful and Glass Arm Shattering), which are excellent and blow most of the preceding songs out of the water. I suppose that's why people are very generous to the album - even if it does meander a little at points, it has a really excellent conclusion and leaves you feeling very positive about it.