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I think the only thing regarding Porcupine Tree that amazes me more than meeting supposed rock/metal music aficionados that have never even heard of Porcupine Tree is how many albums they’ve released and have yet to bore me. This is a band that is constantly growing and led by someone with a very clear passion for music. Whether you’ve never heard Porcupine Tree before or you’re a long time fan, their latest release will not disappoint.

The Incident (2009) somehow offered few surprises to me, but at the same time, I feel like I haven’t listened to it enough. I’ve listened to this album easily 20 times and I just bought it less than a week ago (I know, It came out three weeks ago… shame on me), and I know I’ll actually keep that pace for some time. The biggest change on this album for the band is that The Incident is practically one song… or something loosely defined as a song for the first disc. I’m always a big fan of albums with a strong sense of continuity. However, many times bands assume leaving little to no silence between tracks is all they need to achieve a fully cohesive album. While there is indeed little to no silence between the tracks, there’s never any filler sequences. Rather than calling the first disc of The Incident one extended song, I’d rather label is a collection of movements similar to that of classical compositions. Each track is distinct, but they flow as seamlessly as you’d expect a transition from a verse to a chorus in a simpler composition. In fact, if you’re not looking at your stereo or media player, you’ll have a difficult time letting the music tell you when you’ve changed tracks. On the other hand, if you study it closely, the distinction between the movements make sense after the fact.

The musicianship on this album is top notch, as expected, and the recording is well above par compared to the rest of the progressive rock community. This is no In Absentia (2002) with respect to recording and production, but it’s honestly not far from it. I love the band’s exploration into using more sequences and synthesizer effects, particularly on the title track, The Incident, and Drawing the Line. It expresses the band’s varying influences with out departing too far from their comfort zone. I also noticed more prominent similarities to Radiohead (particularly the guitar tone in the lead for Great Expectations) and Pink Floyd (Time Flies strikes me being along the lines of Animals (1977), but with heavier tendencies at times).

I can’t say enough good things about Porcupine Tree. While The Incident isn’t ground breaking, it’s still an extremely good album with some new and unique ideas not found in previous releases. It’s roughly what I’d expect from a band like Porcupine Tree and it keeps my interest. Somehow they’ve managed to get me to buy 9 of their releases, and I still want more. The only other bands with more releases that I own is Opeth and Pink Floyd, but that’s by a small margin. Any lesser band would have lost their touch or split up long before releasing as many albums as Porcupine Tree. Furthermore, Steven Wilson has had several side projects in the mean time. Even if you’re not into progressive rock, it’s hard not to find that impressive. All in all, The Incident verges on the cohesiveness and production of In Absentia while bringing something new to the table. This is a no-brainer for progressive rock fans looking for new music… buy it already.