Fear of a Blank Planet Preview
A couple tracks from Porcupine Tree's forthcoming album, Fear of a Blank Planet, have been leaked onto the Internet. In addition, the first half of the band's performance from the Keswick Theater in Philadelphia on 7 October of last year has also surfaced. The show was one stop on a short tour of the States in promotion of their DVD Arriving Somewhere and the first set of these shows featured the 6 songs that comprise FoaBP. Until this point, the band had been indifferent to the taping of their concerts but they asked that fans not tape this tour in light of the presence of new material. Despite this, every show save one was recorded by someone in the audience but, in deference to the band's request, the tapers and the trading community have kept these recordings under wraps. Until last month, at least, when the Philadelphia show surfaced along with two tracks from the album, "Sleep Together" and the title track. Of course I grabbed these when I saw them and so here's a little preview of Fear of a Blank Planet.
Let's start with the studio tracks. "Fear of a Blank Planet" opens the album and begins with the sound of typing on a keyboard followed by an indiscernible blast of voice. Presumably someone brought up some audio or video from the Internet. The song then begins properly with an urgent riff on acoustic guitar. A few bars of this and the drums enter followed by the rest of the band. The Tree continue in the vein of their previous album, Deadwing, and this song is reminiscent of that album's title track with a fairly straightforward and very insistent rhythm. There is, however, some really fuzzy guitar work here that sounds like the bass from "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" by Genesis. There are a few different sections which build a sense of drama throughout the song and the presence of Mellotron-like strings adds to this. There's a slow bit in the middle where the opening riff is played on electric guitar which is followed by some really heavy guitar soloing. This section winds down slowly over the course of nearly 2 minutes.
Lyrically the song addresses disaffected youth with its imagery of a kid sitting at a computer while a TV blares in the background. "Xbox is a god to me", Wilson sings. The kid has overdosed on pornography to the point where it only bores him. He is medicated for bipolar disorder and finds sex to merely be another one of the "empty ways of using up the day".
The other song that has been leaked, "Sleep Together", is the final track on FoaBP. The band are breaking a long tradition here of closing albums with a slow, moody track to contrast with the also traditional very big, heavy penultimate song. A slithery synth line worthy of Ozric Tentacles opens the song and, when Wilson begins singing, some piano is added. The drums eventually kick in and it seems that the bass drum is brought much more to the fore in the mix here than on previous albums. Here's the chorus:
Let's sleep together
right now
Relieve the pressure
somehow
Switch off the future
right now
Let's sleep forever
After the chorus, swells of Mellotron choral and string sounds build and bubble up plus Gavin Harrison adds some great bass drum work as the song heads back to the verse. After a slow bit in the middle featuring that splooshy synth, the band returns and the song closes with a great instrumental section featuring some great soloing from keyboardist Richard Barbieri. Considering the band's move towards heavy metal in the past several years, Barbieri's contributions to this song not only stick out, but are also fantastic. The solo at the end features the string sound which is bent and twisted and just great.
Being an audience recording, the live material pales in fidelity to the studio stuff but is quite listenable. The title track and "Sleep Together" aren't that different from their studio counterparts, but there are some different guitar timbres and Wilson's singing is more anxious and, perhaps, downright angry at times.
"My Ashes" is the second song and it begins with some of that rather odd sounding guitar that we first heard on "Revenant", a leftover from the Deadwing sessions. It features piano and strings. It slowly lumbers along and is a bit like "Collapse the Light Into Earth" from In Absentia. Until the official title was announced, "Anesthetize" was known as "The Beast" because it weighs in at about 17 minutes making it the longest song by The Tree in ages. Gavin Harrison gets things going with his work on the toms. Think "A Saucerful of Secrets" but melodic and spacey instead of chaotic. It builds slowly and Wilson eventually cranks his detuned guitar up a bit. Barbieri does some soloing here. Nothing Keith Emerson fast, but he leads the tune along as Wilson warms up. And when, he's ready, Wilson busts out and the band move the closest they ever have into Opeth territory. The pace slows a bit with the guitar revving underneath and the vocals return. It is here that Wilson's voice is the grittiest I've ever heard it. Rather than the wonderful voice he uses in the remarkable Beach Boys-like finish to "Mellotron Scratch", it is strained here as if he can barely contain anger. The heavy metal gives way to the final part of the song which harkens back to the more Pink Floydy PT sound.
"Sentimental" comes next and starts with a fairly jaunty piano line which, I believe, Wilson played. Harrison plays a rhythm on the hi-hat and snare. Or is that a drum machine? The vocal line is really catchy, though I can't make out all the words. Some keys and sustained guitar notes provide the backdrop for a kid pondering his life and the pain inside. This is the "Lazarus" of FoaBP.
"Way Out of Here" follows. It begins slowly – kind of like "Stop Swimming" - with moody synth and washes of guitar, it soon kicks in with some big guitar. After a few bars of riffing, it's back to the gentleness of the opening. And so the song goes contrasting very heavy guitar parts with sections that are almost like a lullaby. Wilson also does some great wah-wah soloing.
And the set closes with the aforementioned "Sleep Together".
Fear of a Blank Planet isn't a move away from Deadwing; more of an expansion up it. There are more Opeth-inflected moments like those from "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" here but they haven't become a death metal band. Keyboards feature more prominently than they have on the past couple albums and so the songs have more of an ensemble feel and, at times, the keys stand right up next to the guitar, if not in front of it. I'm going to wait until the finished product is in my CD player to render a final judgment, but PT fans will love this album. I'm very much looking forward to hearing how the contributions of Alex Lifeson and Robert Fripp shape the material. In addition, I hope that Wilson continues his thing with vocal harmonies. I am very annoyed that the band will not be venturing to Milwaukee on this tour so I am going to have to head to Chicago. Listening to this bootleg, I can imagine that the new material translates very well into the live context. Out of all the songs, I am relishing the chance of hearing "Sleep Together" in concert the most. I just know that the slow, intense build up and keyboard soloing is going to be a great experience.
If no other concert recordings from last fall emerge soon, they will pour out once the album is released. Hopefully some of them are of better quality. I'll try to get my hands on them and post the best of the lot.
Let's start with the studio tracks. "Fear of a Blank Planet" opens the album and begins with the sound of typing on a keyboard followed by an indiscernible blast of voice. Presumably someone brought up some audio or video from the Internet. The song then begins properly with an urgent riff on acoustic guitar. A few bars of this and the drums enter followed by the rest of the band. The Tree continue in the vein of their previous album, Deadwing, and this song is reminiscent of that album's title track with a fairly straightforward and very insistent rhythm. There is, however, some really fuzzy guitar work here that sounds like the bass from "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" by Genesis. There are a few different sections which build a sense of drama throughout the song and the presence of Mellotron-like strings adds to this. There's a slow bit in the middle where the opening riff is played on electric guitar which is followed by some really heavy guitar soloing. This section winds down slowly over the course of nearly 2 minutes.
Lyrically the song addresses disaffected youth with its imagery of a kid sitting at a computer while a TV blares in the background. "Xbox is a god to me", Wilson sings. The kid has overdosed on pornography to the point where it only bores him. He is medicated for bipolar disorder and finds sex to merely be another one of the "empty ways of using up the day".
The other song that has been leaked, "Sleep Together", is the final track on FoaBP. The band are breaking a long tradition here of closing albums with a slow, moody track to contrast with the also traditional very big, heavy penultimate song. A slithery synth line worthy of Ozric Tentacles opens the song and, when Wilson begins singing, some piano is added. The drums eventually kick in and it seems that the bass drum is brought much more to the fore in the mix here than on previous albums. Here's the chorus:
right now
Relieve the pressure
somehow
Switch off the future
right now
Let's sleep forever
After the chorus, swells of Mellotron choral and string sounds build and bubble up plus Gavin Harrison adds some great bass drum work as the song heads back to the verse. After a slow bit in the middle featuring that splooshy synth, the band returns and the song closes with a great instrumental section featuring some great soloing from keyboardist Richard Barbieri. Considering the band's move towards heavy metal in the past several years, Barbieri's contributions to this song not only stick out, but are also fantastic. The solo at the end features the string sound which is bent and twisted and just great.
Being an audience recording, the live material pales in fidelity to the studio stuff but is quite listenable. The title track and "Sleep Together" aren't that different from their studio counterparts, but there are some different guitar timbres and Wilson's singing is more anxious and, perhaps, downright angry at times.
"My Ashes" is the second song and it begins with some of that rather odd sounding guitar that we first heard on "Revenant", a leftover from the Deadwing sessions. It features piano and strings. It slowly lumbers along and is a bit like "Collapse the Light Into Earth" from In Absentia. Until the official title was announced, "Anesthetize" was known as "The Beast" because it weighs in at about 17 minutes making it the longest song by The Tree in ages. Gavin Harrison gets things going with his work on the toms. Think "A Saucerful of Secrets" but melodic and spacey instead of chaotic. It builds slowly and Wilson eventually cranks his detuned guitar up a bit. Barbieri does some soloing here. Nothing Keith Emerson fast, but he leads the tune along as Wilson warms up. And when, he's ready, Wilson busts out and the band move the closest they ever have into Opeth territory. The pace slows a bit with the guitar revving underneath and the vocals return. It is here that Wilson's voice is the grittiest I've ever heard it. Rather than the wonderful voice he uses in the remarkable Beach Boys-like finish to "Mellotron Scratch", it is strained here as if he can barely contain anger. The heavy metal gives way to the final part of the song which harkens back to the more Pink Floydy PT sound.
"Sentimental" comes next and starts with a fairly jaunty piano line which, I believe, Wilson played. Harrison plays a rhythm on the hi-hat and snare. Or is that a drum machine? The vocal line is really catchy, though I can't make out all the words. Some keys and sustained guitar notes provide the backdrop for a kid pondering his life and the pain inside. This is the "Lazarus" of FoaBP.
"Way Out of Here" follows. It begins slowly – kind of like "Stop Swimming" - with moody synth and washes of guitar, it soon kicks in with some big guitar. After a few bars of riffing, it's back to the gentleness of the opening. And so the song goes contrasting very heavy guitar parts with sections that are almost like a lullaby. Wilson also does some great wah-wah soloing.
And the set closes with the aforementioned "Sleep Together".
Fear of a Blank Planet isn't a move away from Deadwing; more of an expansion up it. There are more Opeth-inflected moments like those from "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" here but they haven't become a death metal band. Keyboards feature more prominently than they have on the past couple albums and so the songs have more of an ensemble feel and, at times, the keys stand right up next to the guitar, if not in front of it. I'm going to wait until the finished product is in my CD player to render a final judgment, but PT fans will love this album. I'm very much looking forward to hearing how the contributions of Alex Lifeson and Robert Fripp shape the material. In addition, I hope that Wilson continues his thing with vocal harmonies. I am very annoyed that the band will not be venturing to Milwaukee on this tour so I am going to have to head to Chicago. Listening to this bootleg, I can imagine that the new material translates very well into the live context. Out of all the songs, I am relishing the chance of hearing "Sleep Together" in concert the most. I just know that the slow, intense build up and keyboard soloing is going to be a great experience.
If no other concert recordings from last fall emerge soon, they will pour out once the album is released. Hopefully some of them are of better quality. I'll try to get my hands on them and post the best of the lot.
posted by Palmer at 11:40 AM
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