3/52: Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (5/6)

After having bought two albums and discovered that both of them sounded the way I think albums shouldn’t sound, I decided to change my tactics a little. I’ll do some research on the band or artist before i buy the album. If I don’t do that I’ll risk spending $780+ on music I don’t like. So this time I took the safe road.

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia I downloaded two songs by Porcupine Tree (Flash warning) when I was in college. Two songs might not sound like much, but they were both well over ten minutes long and not even a tad boring. I was quite the thief back then, downloading copyrighted music and games left or right. Now I never do that anymore. Almost. For some reason, finding Porcupine Tree music at the time was tricky business and I more or less gave up. Now, a few years later, I was reminded of the band when Max suggested their album In Absentia as one of the CDs I should buy for my project.

In the record store I actually ended up getting two of their albums; the one I’d listened to when in college, Voyage 34 The Complete Trip, and In Absentia.

Porcupine Tree plays a psychedelic mix of pop, rock and electronica. I’m not going to write much of a review of this album, just simply recommend it. I’m not saying that you’ll like it, but you should ask the clerk if you could listen to it the next time you’re visiting your local record store.

Here’s the main problem with this project: I might actually end up really liking some of the new bands and artists I listen to, which will probably result in me buying their CDs. In the case of Porcupine Tree it can set me back a small fortune. These guys have released over 25 albums and singles plus various limited editions, promotional releases and rarities. And on top of that, the band members are involved in different side projects that might also be brilliant. Do you see a bad pattern forming here?

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia gets 5/6.


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