th<\/sup> century, 1999\u2019s Stupid Dream<\/i>, that firmly established the Porcupine Tree sound. Though it wouldn\u2019t chart \u2013 in fact it was the last of the band\u2019s albums not to do so \u2013 Stupid Dream<\/i> occupies an important place in the band\u2019s history, bringing together progressive and pop textures. Greeted with near universal critical acclaim, it\u2019s also a superb listen start to finish.<\/p>\nThe album starts in grand fashion with \u201cEven Less.\u201d A glacial string arrangement fades in, but the sonic reverie is soon punctured by the sound of a laughing girl: the sort of aural device one had come to expect on Pink Floyd albums. Continuing that connection with the past, when Steven Wilson\u2019s guitar enters, he\u2019s playing slide in a manner more than a bit reminiscent of David Gilmour. After a couple of passes of an extended melodic riff, Maitland\u2019s slap on the snare drum signals the entrance of the entire band. Built upon a simple chord progression adorned with a soaring melody and a distinctive synthesizer riff, the instrumental component of \u201cEven Less\u201d has enough going for it that little more is needed.<\/p>\n
But as the verses begin, it\u2019s clear that Wilson \u2013 composer of all of the music on Stupid Dream<\/i> \u2013 has ideas to burn. His sings a melancholy lyric, supporting it with shimmering acoustic guitar; when the choruses come around, the contrast is effective and complementary. Other than its length (over seven minutes), the tracks has all of the elements required of a hit single. The final minute of the song features some mysterious found audio from a numbers station.<\/p>\n
\u201cPiano Lessons\u201d is even more accessible. Upon a foundation of a four-chord piano melody \u2013 doubled by guitar \u2013 the song is impossibly catchy, and features a rousing vocal chorus. Deeply textured, \u201cPiano Lessons\u201d even displays bits of Wilson\u2019s sardonic humor.<\/p>\n
The track listed as \u201cStupid Dream\u201d is more of a connective snippet, featuring strings nearly identical to the opening of \u201cEven Less,\u201d with bits of operatic vocal. It leads straight into the winsome \u201cPure Narcotic.\u201d Wilson\u2019s bright acoustic guitar is joined by Barbieri\u2019s crystalline piano and chiming glockenspiel textures. The song\u2019s heart-rending lyric explores themes of fractured relationships, regret, disappointment and failure, all themes to which Wilson would return again and again. Wilson\u2019s carefully stacked vocal arrangements showcase his fascination with that of another Wilson: the Beach Boys\u2019 Brian (no relation).<\/p>\n
\u201cSlave Called Shiver\u201d takes the album in a harder-rocking direction. With Edwin\u2019s sinister-sounding bass line as a foundation, the tune unfolds with both the piano and guitar lines portending something violent to come. Effected vocal bits preview a sound Wilson would use on 2002\u2019s In Absentia<\/i>. The song\u2019s guitar solo also hints at Wilson\u2019s growing interest in metal.<\/p>\n
Slowing the pace but increasing the tension, the lengthy \u201cDon\u2019t Hate Me\u201d is equal parts beauty and menace. Another out-of-love song, it sounds hopelessly weary. Theo Travis\u2019s flute and saxophone strongly recall early King Crimson, though it would be some years before Wilson would make that connection explicit in his work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is No Rehearsal\u201d opens as a showcase for the subtle finesse present in Maitland\u2019s percussive work. Short verses quickly give way to catchy choruses; the contrast between dream verses and clattering, progressive-leaning choruses is striking. Wilson makes effective use of the oft-maligned wah-wah pedal during his guitar solo.<\/p>\n
The dreamy \u201cBaby Dream in Cellophane\u201d is a modern, minor-key take on British psychedelia circa 1967; Wilson\u2019s folky harmonies are a highlight.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most single-worthy cut on a uniformly excellent set, \u201cStranger by the Minute\u201d combines all of Porcupine Tree\u2019s virtues \u2013 soothing yet assured vocals, a sharp hook, excellent musicianship and textured arrangement \u2013 into a near-perfect whole.<\/p>\n
While for the most part Stupid Dream<\/i> leaves behind the space-rock sound of Porcupine Tree\u2019s earlier releases, it\u2019s very much in evidence on \u201cA Smart Kid.\u201d With a lyric that bears faint echoes of David Bowie\u2019s \u201cSpace Oddity,\u201d the lumbering song takes its time to develop. Barbieri\u2019s Mellotron (or Mellotron-like) keyboard sounds hold everything together as Wilson sings in a plaintive voice. After an assortment of sonic effect, a sweeping orchestral arrangement is laid upon the song. Wilson takes a somewhat Floydian guitar solo as the song winds toward its end.<\/p>\n
The instrumental \u201cTinto Brass\u201d is the strangest composition on Stupid Dream<\/i>. Ominous percussion stabs, busy-telephone sounds, a woman muttering in Japanese, flourishes of Travis\u2019 flute and an insistent rhythm section all combine to create a feeling of unease. Eventually the arrangement gives way to a liquid guitar line and a busy bass figure. Those two sections alternate back and forth throughout, joined by an angry and very metallic-sounding guitar break mid-song.<\/p>\n
Stupid Dream<\/i> concludes with \u201cStop Swimming.\u201d Maitland\u2019s drum part fades in slowly, joined by Barbieri\u2019s piano and Wilson singing in his most resigned and melancholy voice. The tune is spare and atmospheric; it feels like an album-ending tune right from its start. And the final minute of \u201cStop Swimming\u201d is the sound of Porcupine Tree fading into the sonic mist.<\/p>\n
With the benefit of hindsight, Stupid Dream<\/i> can be viewed as of a piece with 2002\u2019s Lightbulb Sun<\/i>, both made in the period during which Porcupine Tree was moving away from its space-rock origins toward a progressive metal sound. Unlike other artists who have attempted similarly ambitious stylistic changes, Porcupine Tree navigated its creative path deftly, creating accessible and tuneful music all the while. And Stupid Dream<\/i> stands among the band\u2019s best work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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Porcupine Tree began as a ruse; Steven Wilson concocted a backstory for a fictitious band. But the prodigiously talented multi-instrumentalist crafted music to go with the legend, and thus the \u201cgroup\u201d was born. After a string of albums made essentially at home alone, Wilson put together an actual<\/i> group and began playing live dates. 1996\u2019s Signify<\/i> was the first album to be recorded by the band-proper, then including Wilson, keyboardist Richard Barbieri, bassist Colin Edwin and drummer Chris Maitland. Signify<\/i> pointed the way toward Porcupine Tree\u2019s future, with a more song-based approach replacing the earlier, more more improvisational-based style.<\/p>\n