Porcupine Tree
„In Absentia“
Double-Vinyl Black. Prog. 2002.

How can I do justice to my "favorite band" without being too brief or too long-winded? By refraining from finding fault somewhere? Porcupine Tree is either shortened to Steven Wilson or to perfection. That's silly. Steven Wilson is undeniably Porcupine Tree in the beginning, the musicians are just necessary. And yet the Porcupine Tree project developed into the band Porcupine Tree, and the rest is history. In 2002, Gavin Harrison appeared as the new drummer with In Absentia, raising the already high standard even higher. This album is generally regarded as PT's (Porcupine Tree) masterpiece. I see it in a more differentiated way. In Absentia is the essence of what has defined PT musically in the past and in the future. A successful collection of different styles and genres: pop, Brit-pop, psychedelic, rock, indie, metal, trip hop, in short: what defines prog rock: diversity. And PT always manages to conjure up a unity out of it. Over time I will introduce each album by PT, but the focus is on the following albums:

Signify 1996
In Absentia 2002
Deadwing 2005
Fear Of A Blank Planet 2007
The Incident 2009
Anesthetize – Live In Tilburg 2008
We Lost The Skyline Live 2008
Octane Twisted Live 2012
Closure/Continuation Live 2022

2 LPs in black vinyl. No dents, no bumps, everything runs smoothly and without any unusual background noises. That's how I know it from Porcupine Tree. The first song, "Blackest Eye", successfully blends Brit-pop, rock, folk guitars and metal to create first-class prog. The essence of PT. The ballad "Trains" has become a live favorite with fans. "Lips of Ashes" is in no way inferior and ends side A. Side B opens with "Sound of Muzak" (The music of rebellion makes you wanna rage / But it's made by millionaires who are nearly twice your age) "and "Gravity Eyelids". Both are much more psychedelic. "Wedding Nails" is an instrumental rocker mixed with trip hop and psychedelic. Colin Edwin with excellent bass lines and at the end keyboarder Richard Barbieri is left alone in the horror cellar. A real highlight.

Side C starts with “Prodigal”, a song that is often overlooked and I wonder why? Thoughtful beginning, transitioning into a pop ballad in the chorus. Melancholically beautiful. A highlight. “.3”, the bass is on spot! The rest is symphonic psychedelic, with beautiful drumming. “The Creator has a Mastertape” moves more towards prog, nice bass, distorted guitars and vocals. Hard rock, atonal. Really good. Musically flawless. Side D breaks with the harshness in my highlight “Heartattack in a Layby”. It is the mood, “The smell of Rain in the Aircon”, that generates images like a film in the head. I love it! “Strip the Soul” brings us back crisply and drives away all pop when it comes to the desire for power. It ends in noise doom, before all the harshness escapes in “Colapse the Light into Earth”. The title alone is pure poetry.

Colin Edwin, Bass. Gavin Harrison, Drums. Richard Barbieri, Keyboard.  Steven Wilson, Vocals, Guitar.

Masterpiece? For some, too poppy, the songs too short. A clear no? For me, however, "In Absentia" is the pinnacle of a masterpiece, the skilful blending of pop, prog, rock, metal, folk, indie. Intelligent and well thought-out lyrics. That ends in modern prog. Every song works. If you want to convert someone to prog, play "Trains"! Attract metalheads to prog? "Strip the Soul"! Poets? Then "Colapse the Light Into Earth". If you want to experience the essence of Porcupine Tree, "In Absentia" is a masterpiece. And that was 22 years ago.

The photos are all from my LP. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.