Probably about two weeks ago Artsi told me I might like In Absentia by Porcupine Tree. So I got it uploaded to my iPod so I could listen to it on the train. Indeed, I liked it. I didn’t think progressive rock was made anymore, but apparenty I was wrong (you could search for “neo prog”). In Absentia is an airy and happy album — I kept it playing while I walked from the train to the office, and it went well with the cool breeze of that day. Of course, as always, there is a price for finding new music: I now own five Porcupine Tree albums already.
A new album was just released a couple of days ago and is called Deadwing. It has a much heavier rock sound. I’ve only listened to it twice, so I can’t yet say too much, other than that so far I seem to like it.
However, I’ve been more drawn to their older material. Right now I’m listening to the Stars Die double album, which is a compilation of their music from 1991–1997 released under the Delerium label. From what I understood from the biography this material is mainly solo work by Steven Wilson in tribute to the 60’s and 70’s music that insipired him. I really want to make note of my favorite songs and look up the albums on which they originally appeared.
If you like prog rock, check out two great current prog rock bands – Spock’s Beard and The Flower Kings. There is no way prog rock is dead. Far from it, actually.
Enjoy… try not to spend too much money, as both of these bands have a substantial amount of material :)
http://www.spocksbeard.com http://www.theflowerkings.com
Rob
Rob — 27.5.05 @ 14:06
Hi Rob!
Thanks for the recommendations! I’ve seen references to Spock’s Beard before, but so far haven’t gotten around to listening to them. I guess I’ll need to do that. The Flower Kings is new to me, so that’ll be interesting to discover, too.
Kimmo Suominen — 28.5.05 @ 15:54
Porcupine is indeed great, and I’m hooked on the latest album for sure ;)
I just wanted to recommend another Steven Wilson production; Blackfield. It’s simply wonderful. Nothing else to say.
Øivind — 30.5.05 @ 3:41
Hi Kimmo,
Actually I gave the Porcupine Tree to Artsi since I liked it a lot. I found out about the band from Radio Paradise, which I think is the best internet radio station out there at the moment, so maybe you’ll like it also…
Timo — 4.6.05 @ 14:21
Øivind — thanks for the recommendation. I’ll definitely check it out. Unfortunately Last.FM didn’t have any songs I could add from them.
Timo — good to hear from you! Right now I’m without my MP3’s (and CD’s) as all my belongings are being shipped to Finland, so Radio Paradise is just what I need. I have it playing as I’m typing this. I’m also happy about my personal Last.FM station.
Kimmo Suominen — 19.6.05 @ 16:53