Porcupine Tree
„Nil Recurring“
Progressive Rock. Vinyl EP. Remaster 2022 (2007)

An album is finished, in this case "Fear Of A Blank Planet." A lot of material remains, enough for an EP with four songs. And they're quite something. Alongside Steven Wilson and his band, Robert Fripp (King Crimson) plays electric guitar on the instrumental "Nil Recurring."

Before I get into the four songs, I feel the need to ask a question. What exactly is wrong with "Fear Of A Blank Planet"? People complain that these four songs didn't "make it" onto FOABP, which means the album doesn't live up to its potential. While some other bands quickly throw an EP onto the scrap heap, PT delivers concentrated delights. Darker, more compelling, melancholic, and rockier. "Nil Recurring" begins the EP instrumentally. What Fripp plays on the guitar is impressive. And I'm not necessarily a fan of purely instrumental music. But this song is simply awesome.

For some, "Normal" is better than "Sentimental." I don't want to slip into categories like worse or better. I'm glad that "Sentimental" and "Normal" exist, and I enjoy listening to both songs. Perhaps it's precisely this luxury that some people just can't handle. "Something from PT again? And everything's perfect again! It's all too much for me, it's not beautiful anymore!" We now have two wonderful songs; it couldn't be better.

"Cheating The Polygraph" and "What Happens Now?" perfectly round out this entertaining EP. An engaging 28 minutes are behind me, and I don't regret a single second. More on that in...

… Conclusion. It's not often that you find musicians who consistently deliver simply good music. Steven Wilson, with his high-quality output (also thanks to his congenial band members), is simply a phenomenon. It doesn't matter if it's always to my taste (it isn't), but I can still appreciate it. I don't have to listen to everything. To the haters out there: take off the blinders and just listen. Don't always look for faults.

I'm glad that "Nil Reccuring" made it onto vinyl. I see the EP as a supplement to "FOABP," but also as a standalone album. Sometimes luxury is just beautiful. No complaints.

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 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.

©28.08.2025