Porcupine Tree
„On The Sunday Of Life“
CD, Digipack, 1992. Remastered by Steven Wilson 2015.

The band Porcupine Tree didn't exist at this point; it began as a project by Steven Wilson with a fabricated backstory. What we have here wasn't really new, as most of the songs come from two tapes, "Tarquin's Seaweed Farm" from 1989 and "The Nostalgia Factory" from 1990. Almost all the lyrics were written by his then school friend Allen Duffy, and the music by Steven Wilson, who produced the tapes himself in a small run and released them independently. 

Various reviews describe this album as a harbinger of the future. Accusations are leveled that it's "boring," "inconsistent," "lacking style," or lacking a concept. Firstly, this isn't a concept album, and secondly, anything with even a hint of pop ("Jupiter Island") isn't inherently boring. It's obvious that Steven Wilson hasn't yet found his style. And yet, this is where his evolution begins; we hear what has inspired Steven Wilson, and many passages, in their numerous small and large elements, already sound like the mature Porcupine Tree. And we also hear some of his more experimental, youthful sounds. It all has a certain charm.

Let me pick out track 10. "Radioactive Toy" stands out and sounds significantly more mature than some songs on OSL (On The Sunday Of Life). The Pink Floyd character is even more pronounced here than on later albums. For me, it's the heart of this CD. "Jupiter Island" (track 2), on the other hand, is a cheerful, playful song, and "Linton Samuel Dawson" (track 12), with its heavily distorted vocals, doesn't quite fit in. These are quirky songs whose concepts are still developing, yet they still convey a good sense of the evolution of Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson. Besides the relatively short tracks, there are several instrumental pieces. We repeatedly find elements reminiscent of Yes, Gong, King Crimson, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd. Some of these are based on crude humor, while others have a surreal, psychedelic feel. I would also play song 11, "Footprints", song 9, "Nine Cats", the "The Nostalgia Factor" (song 5) which begins with sitar sounds and the last song "It Will Rain For A Million Years".

Conclusion. Anyone expecting a polished Porcupine Tree sound will be disappointed. Reviewers judging OSL from the perspective of Porcupine Tree's future are also mistaken. This isn't a concept album, but rather a collection of fragmented songs from the early days, before PT was even a band. However, those who are open-minded, interested in the evolution of PT/Steven Wilson, and aware of their musical background will discover a gem or two. Likewise, some of the songs are far from polished, and that can be quite interesting. I don't listen to OSL all that often, but it comes on every now and then, and I always find something interesting. Boring? Definitely not.

On The Sunday Of Life 1992
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.

No AI was used in the making of this Review.
©30.01.2026