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Porcupine Tree is one those bands that has managed to keep under the radar for nearly 20 years. I don’t know how they did it. I’m actually kind of impressed. Especially since they’ve had guest musicians like Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and Mikael Åkerfeld (Opeth). If you don’t know who King Crimson is then you probably weren’t aware that progessive rock has been around since their first album in 1969. If you’ve never heard of Opeth, I’ll let it slide… until they get a dedicated post. Alright, moving on…

Nil Recurring (2008) is perhaps not the best album to introduce oneself to Porcupine Tree, but it is certainly one of my favorites. The album is only about a half hour long with 4 tracks. Nonetheless, it is worth every penny. The album title is really ironic since the track Normal is a re-working of Sentimental from the album Fear of a Blank Planet (2007). When I say re-working, I mean a complete re-working. Virtually the only recognizable feature is an occasional melody and some lyrics. I didn’t pick up on it at first. But there was this twitch in my ear telling me to listen closer. The other three tracks seem to be completely unique from Fear of a Blank Planet, except one guitar riff about five minutes into What Happens Now. And of course the first track, Nil Recurring, is completely new (At least from the 8 albums that I have, and I know I’m missing some). I guess that’s just sublte british humour for you.

I enjoyed this album from start to finish. I particularly love Robert Fripps contribution in the first track. If only I could collaborate with music giants like him. The track is all instrumental and a great introduction into the album. It starts off with a simple beat and progresses with increasing complexity. Though song actually has some structure to it, you still get the sensation that Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp are just jammin’ out together. The track builds up a lot of complexity by the end making a great segway into the following track.

Normal is quintessential Porcupine Tree. The fact that it stemmed from a previously released track only adds more depth to it. I enjoy Normal as much as Sentimental. It actually doesn’t bug me that they’re both rooted together with the same chorus. To me, thats just like getting two decoder rings in your cereal box. I mean, who doens’t want more awesome. I’d be interested to see if they combine the two when playing live. Steve Wilson did not in the live acoustic album We Lost the Skyline, but perhaps that would change with the full band.

I’d love to continue reviewing the album at this pace, but you’re better off buying the album rather than reading my ramblings. You have some mello, hard, progressive, and even a little psychadelic rock waiting for you. You know you want it and I can’t give it to you.

I strongly encourage you check out Nil Recurring. Then check out their discography to see all the albums you’ve been missing. If you believe it, there’s actually more Porcupine Tree than what they list. (e.g. I’ve got a copy of Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm from 1989.)