Porcupine Tree
„Lightbulb Sun“
Art, Progressive, Rock, Grunge. CD Digibook, Remaster 2021 (2000)

How long have I been willfully ignoring these two albums, "Stupid Dream" and "Lightbulb Sun"? While I still maintained in my review of „Signify“ that these albums were "uninteresting" to me, my opinion has now changed completely!

"Brit-pop. Superficial. Lacking originality." Unfortunately, I let these opinions put me off these albums. The good news? For me, both albums, apart from a few songs I already knew from various live albums, were a real discovery! "Signify" marked the transition in 1997 from the Porcupine Tree project to the band Porcupine Tree. "Lightbulb Sun" (LS) was released in 2000, a year after "Stupid Dream." Both albums are further examples of Porcupine Tree's evolution. Now let's talk about "Lightbulb Sun."

Besides Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), and Colin Edwin (bass), Chris Maitland plays drums on this album for the last time with Porcupine Tree. "Stupid Dream" and "Lightbulb Sun" are characterized by a blend of atmospheric, folk-inspired, and psychedelic sounds, as well as powerful, rock-oriented passages. But there are also some beautiful melodies, proving that Porcupine Tree can excel in that area as well. The opener, "Lightbulb Sun," starts softly and gradually builds into more rocking sections. "Shemovedon" demonstrates how to write a great ballad: without being cheesy! It never becomes monotonous. Those who prefer a more rock-oriented sound will appreciate "Hatesong." "Russia On Ice" offers a more psychedelic vibe. I also want to mention the superb "Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled" and "Four Chords That Made A Million." The 56:07 minutes of music are anything but boring, as all the other songs are simply excellent.

The quality of the CD, the music and the production are flawless. Anyone who enjoys beautiful melodies mixed with rock, progressive rock and psychedelic elements should definitely pick this up. And don't wait 25 years like I did! This album is worth it just for the song "Russia On Ice" alone. The fact that it's a great album overall is just an added bonus.

Signify 1996
Coma Divine (Live) 1997
Stupid Dream 1999
Lightbulb Sun 2000
Recordings 2002
In Absentia 2002
Deadwing 2005
Fear Of A Blank Planet 2007
Nil Recurring 2007
Anesthetize – Live In Tilburg 2008
We Lost The Skyline Live 2008
The Incident 2009
Octane Twisted Live 2012
Closure/Continuation Live 2022

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

©21.09.2025