Deadwing
by Porcupine Tree

I always get the same feeling with PT. When it’s playing in the background and I’m not paying too much attention, it works well enough. It’s harmless, the melodies are catchy, and the instrumental sections are well made.

But as soon as I try to listen more closely, I’m always disappointed. It’s very safe music. Everything feels carefully measured, tightly controlled, nothing sticks out. It becomes sterile pretty quickly.

It doesn’t sound natural either. A band doesn’t sound like this in a room, only through in-ears and studio precision. The drum production feels very artificial, the guitars and keys are heavily polished, and the whole thing leans more toward computer than human warmth. Even the piano sounds plugged-in rather than miked, with none of the natural character you’d expect from the instrument.

In the end, it’s listenable. It’s well made, clean, and there are good ideas throughout. I can absolutely understand why people enjoy it, and I do see the strengths. It’s just not for me.

For me, it’s never truly engaging. Most of the time I forget what I’m hearing almost immediately, and that’s actually the better outcome. The other option, when I pay closer attention, is that it starts to drag and bore me.

Clearly, I’m not PT’s target audience. My two favorite tracks on the album are also the ones rated lowest on this site, which probably says it all.

From Larcx13 09/04/2024 19:00 | #305134

Nice album. Tracks are a bit lengthy but they make up for it by being good. Another good find thanks to this website.
B+
Top track: Lazarus
Least favorite: Halo

Top of their game on this album. 'Lazarus' and 'Arriving Somewhere But Not Here' make the album alone, however the rest of the tracks are at a similar level.

An outstanding release that is such a rich and detailed experience from beginning to end. This record of full of phenomenal songs, the peak in my opinion is Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, Lazarus and the hugely under rated title track which really opens the record in style. Lazarus is possibly one of their best ever tracks and is a musical marvel that stuns me every time I hear it. The rest of the tracks are only a little bit behind these in terms of quality making this a very consistent and cohesive listen. Steven Wilson's song writing is brilliant and the delivery of his words back this up making for a record that is perfect for exploring. Then there is the instrumental layering which is deep and complex with some outstanding performances on guitar, bass, drums and many more making for a listen that never gets stale even if you constantly keep coming back. It is a long record though so I can see the arguments of people getting tired or fatigued mid way through but in my opinion this shouldn't really effect most listeners as there is enough going on to keep you thoroughly entertained. Overall, a masterpiece that is beautifully composed and it really deserves more praise than it gets along with the band in general who are criminally under rated.

This album has a track score for me of 91.11 and is placed @ 10 in my overall chart with a rating of 100

More excellence by Porcupine Tree. Another great mix of metal, prog rock and piano-based ballads - as is common with their brilliantly diverse albums. My highlights are Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, Start Of Something Beautiful and the beautiful Lazarus.

100/100

Steven Wilson doing his thing again, genius

What a finding, what a treasure! This album is simply fantastic and It is highly underrated in this site. My god If every modern Metal album was like this.

Although it is not my favourite PT album (i find it a bit irregular), "Arriving Somewhere but not Here" is a crowning achievement that deserves more exposition

So underrated