By Adam Knudsen (April 6, 2005)

Recently I went out and purchased Porcupine Tree’s "In Absentia," album. I was quickly in awe of this British band. They only two bands that come to mind when trying to compare this band is a Pink Floyd instrumental mixed with a Radiohead vocal sound. It is hard to describe the kind of music Porcupine Tree plays because there is no one genre you can categorize them in.

The album kicks off with the song "Blackest Eyes," with a subtle guitar work that I turned up loud in order to enjoy it and then as if released from a cage a full stream of music leaves your eardrums in shreds. It was a shocking intro. The rest of the song is followed by smooth vocals that sound distant accompanied by acoustic guitar, drums, and bass. This song is very well done; the blend of heavy guitars with the upbeat tempo of the soft acoustic chorus is tremendous. I think it was the perfect song to open the album.

The CD then flows seamlessly into "Trains" as a simple acoustic guitar opens the song along with vocals. After about a minute of singing, the drums enter with a bang along with a bass guitar. The acoustic solo flows beautifully into the song and transitions the song into the vocals nicely. The song ends with vocal chanting and melody. This song really grabbed my attention and made Porcupine Tree a good band in my mind. You never hear creative music anymore, so this was very refreshing.


The next song, "Lips of Ashes," starts with a dulcimer and simple acoustic guitar into a mellow sound. The vocals are cool and there is a nice duet towards the middle of the song. The electric guitar, with its long sustaining notes takes you on a journey throughout the song. This song sounds like something you would hear on Pink Floyd’s "Echoes" album.

Track 4, "The Sound of Muzak" has an unusual time signature because there is a gap between the drum beats and the guitar rhythm. The vocals come in following the acoustic rhythm. The bass guitar that plays with the chorus is excellent. During the interlude there is a decent guitar solo completing this track making it worth while. I challenge you to figure out what the "Wonder of the World" is in the song.

Track 5, "Gravity Eyelids" is for all you Radiohead fans. This song opens with vocals and later the piano accompanies the voice making a very nice sound. The bass stands out in this song along with a spacey sounding guitar in the background. Towards the end the song gets very cool and all the instruments come in and play their part.

After putting you into a tranquil state, Porcupine Tree quickly picks up the beat with "Wedding Nails." An upbeat tempo that starts with pure electric guitar and then instruments slowly chime in adding their own special flavor to the overall composition of the track. Even though this song is quite a simple structure it holds your attention.

The next track, "Prodigal," has a cool guitar and again a Radiohead-sounding vocals. The chorus is accompanied by acoustic guitar and at (2 minutes 20 seconds) you get to be entertained by a Led Zeppelin-sounding riff, followed by lead guitar. After the solo the music revolves around the essential bass line accompanied with a simple drum beat. The end of the song sounds like a symphony with lead guitar and bass, leaving you feeling like you could conquer a country.

Track 8, ".3" starts with Porcupine Tree’s signature bass along with lead guitar, cool electric guitar effects, and drum rolling. The song sounds as if it is transitioning you into a huge explosion of sound, but don’t let that mislead you because the song then transitions into vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar. Then moves on to what sounds like an orchestra of violins playing in the background. The song then explores a variety of effects on guitar, bass and drum.

Track 9, "The Creator Has a Mastertape" starts with an In Flames sounding lead guitar followed by a quick bass line and cool effects with the electric guitar. If you listen to the lyrics this song is pretty funny, but graphic. Towards the end it has cool distortion, but this track was somewhat disappointing and is worth skipping.

"Heartattack in a Lay by" is a mellow song with nice acoustic guitar and keyboard. The melody is slow and harmonic. Keyboard sound provides a spacey nuance. This is a cool song if you like acoustic guitar.

Track 11, "Strip the Soul" opens with a cool bass riff accompanied by either an electric guitar with effects or a keyboard. Then it goes into a heavy guitar distortion sound with unnecessary vocals. But besides the chorus the rhyming sequence of the vocals is cool in this song.

The final track "Collapse the Light into Earth" opens with a cool piano intro followed by vocal reverb. This song gives you that kind of rainy day feel with the piano. Towards the middle they pull off an orchestra-sounding interlude.

When the album ends you want to go through it all over again listening to your favorites. This is definitely a CD that you need on your shelf.