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Porcupine Tree - The Sky Moves Sideways
Porcupine Tree - The Sky Moves Sideways
Delerium Records – DelecDCD082 - 2003 (Reissue)
By Sam Brokenshaw
Reviewing an album of this breadth and scope is akin to trying to translate "War and Peace" or "Crime and Punishment" into English without losing the subtle nuances of the language. This reviewer would henceforth like to beg pardon for being unable to do justice to the art on offer here!
To get the nitty gritty out of the way, the album comprises 5 tracks. This follows the same structure as Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", in that the first and last tracks comprise a longer whole and the three in the middle flesh out the album whilst not exactly staying without the conceptual boundaries of the surrounding material. "Dislocated Day" is somewhat frantic and paranoia inducing, featuring a distinctly Eastern inflected melodic structure and infused with a slightly evil overall feel, this song stands out the most rock orientated track on offer here. To contrast "Moon Touches Your Shoulder" is all pastoral acoustic texture and timeless melodic crafting, with a nod to the old hands of melancholy pop/rock, such as Nick Drake and more lately Jeff Buckley. (Feel free to groan at the pun) "Prepare Yourself" acts as a kind of stylistic bridge between these two binary opposites, being both hypnotic and somewhat energetic in the shape of a tasty lead or three from Steven Wilson.
The two part title track is the real flesh of this album however. In the same way as the aforementioned Pink Floyd album and song, it blends the hypnotic with the catchy. Elements of electronica and epic trance (see The Orb's "Blue Room") combine on this album blending sublime keyboard textures with gloomy metaphysical lyricism and psychedelic rock to great effect. Huge sustained organ swells and bluesy lead guitar do border on out and out Floyd worship, but the band rise above this admirably. The resulting work is a try classic of modern progressive rock and an important milestone in the career of a great band.
9/10
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