Fear of a Blank Planet

Ok, I finally found time to listen to one of the most anticipated albums of 2007 - Porcupine Tree's Fear of A Blank Planet. Porcupine Tree follows the 20th century progressive lineage from Genesis, Pink Floyd, Marillion, through Dream Theater and they have taken progressive from the late neo-melodic into a 21st century postmodern progressive. The textures of their musical landscape are layers that are chaotic and dynamic, revealing a visceral complexity. Heavy, dark, and ethereal at the same time. Like the other great progressive albums of 2007, Marillion's Somewhere Else and Dream Theater's Systematic Chaos, this album is completely immersive. The music pulls you into a new world, where you want to stay and explore for a while. Like the aforementioned albums, this is one where the "repeat" button is required. The core of the album is Anesthetize, an 18 minute track that really shines as an example of modern progressive rock.

The themes of modern ennui found here are not new, going as far back as Baudelaire, although some of the technological aspects are new. The blankness of Generation X was a realized concept circa 1980, and further popularized by Douglas Coupland in the early 90s. Writing about teen angst is shaky ground for anyone over the age of 22. Peart took a larger third person perspective with the Rush songs Subdivisions and The Pass. But, here Wilson takes a more precarious first person view. The lyrics seem somewhat simplistic - whether this is intentional as appropriate to the narrative character, I don't know. As another reviewer of this album noted, "Steven Wilson's skills as a producer, songwriter, and guitarist far surpass his skills as a lyricist. This album is weighed down by its mediocre lyrics." I have to agree. The imagery is a little too overt, it has no ambiguity to allow for multiple levels of interpretation. While, I get his point, I get hit with it a little too much - some things are best when they are not as explicit. Besides the simplicity, the contemporary references -ipod, xbox, Pearl Jam, etc - might give the album a dated point of view. But, besides these concerns, the album does explore interesting ground, themes that are worth repeatedly exploring in new light. Porcupine Tree provides this light with the "modernity" of their sound, and takes us into a new future as they lead the course of progressive music.