I’ll admit to being late to the party on The Pineapple Thief, as I wrote them off as being Porcupine Tree wannabes. Even Gavin Harrison has joined them on the old pots and pans. He has also established himself as Bruce Soord’s main songwriting partner. I think I was a bit harsh in my assessment, as I think I came to the conclusion just on the similarities in the voices of the main protagonists.
This is actually the 12th studio album from the band, and the second with Gavin. This is a concept album based (if I’m correct) on the way social media and technology lead to the dissolution of society as we know it. The album starts with a brooding piano piece, Not Naming Any Names, a very eerie opening. This leads into the more upbeat, Try As I Might, which brings the band into play and is a really good modern Prog song. Threatening War is a similar composition with a really cool middle section. Uncovering Your Tracks runs along similar lines to the previous two tracks, and the side closer, All That You’ve Got, is a more up-tempo groover of a tune – the strongest track so far.
Side 2 starts with Far Below, and I’m getting the message that this is the band’s trademark sound – even though the guitars get turned up towards the nod of the song. I’m going to go back to my original assessment. I suppose you can call it Porcupine Tree Light, as that’s what springs to mind constantly. Pillar Of Salt takes the mood down several notches, and is an engaging acoustic piece. Next up is the albums epic piece and 11 minutes of White Mist. Musically, this song is all about Gavin’s drumming, as it steers the song through all its twists and turns, along with Bruce’s guitar chunk. All modern Prog bands have the big epic number on their albums as it’s in the Prog 101 handbook. The album closes with Shed A Light, and leaves us in a more upbeat happy note. A pretty good album while not being outstanding.
7.5/10 from The Grooveman.
