Porcupine Tree

It would be easy to get the wrong impression of Lightbulb Sun without ever hearing a note. You could, for starters, base your expectations on 2007’s Fear Of A Blank Planet, which crammed disparate stylistic elements–including more than a few metal riffs–into just six songs, spanning nearly an hour. Not that Lightbulb Sun is without its epics–but even the eight-and-a-half minute "Hatesong" plays out more like an extended jam built around a steady bass groove, than it does a calculated collision of ideas.

Most of what’s found on the album–repackaged here as a two-disc set with both a stereo CD and a DVD-Audio version mixed in surround sound–are three and four minute songs that could almost pass as the same Brit Pop that Porcupine Tree's countrymen were churning out when Lightbulb Sun was first released in 2000. Oh, it has its climactic moments of guitar thunder, and frequently veers off its pop course. Fab Four revivalism, this is very clearly not, though

That said, as a matter of convenience, the "prog-rock" label tends to get slapped on Porcupine Tree. For lack of a better classification, maybe it's not entirely unwarranted–but this is far from "prog" in the stereotypical, dirty-word sense of over-thought chord progressions and overwrought attempts to show off musical chops. As much as a handful of old guys working at Guitar Center love that stuff, Porcupine Tree achieves something altogether more enjoyable here. And, while audiophiles may find the dense harmonies and musical arrangements intriguing in surround sound, the strength of Lightbulb Sun is in melancholic melodies that would sound every bit as good in mono.

—Mike Magnuson
06.16.08