The incomparable progressive metal band Porcupine Tree are back with Closure/Continuation C/C after 13 years of silence, since their 2009 album The Incident. In his countless number of interviews, Steven Wilson at all times said that the PT were not coming back, those PT days were over and that he was happy with his solo projects. But now, after 13 years, here we are with the new PT album: the name of the album is very meaningful and I personally think that even the band has not totally decided whether it is a closure or a continuation.
We’ll see together how they “continue” in the future. The first single released in November 2021 was Harridan and Of The New Day followed in March 2022. The album hit the digital platforms in full, by the end of June 2022. With metal music lovers, we have listened to the album together at Clubhouse Metal Oda. Those of you who read my reviews at https://metaloda.com would already know that Metal Oda is a huge Steven Wilson fan. His album “The Future Bites”, nominated for 2022 Grammy Awards in Immersive Audio category is reviewed in detail here at metaloda.com. https://metaloda.com/steven-wilson-the-man-with-the-golden-touch/As I mentioned in that review, the music coming out from Steven Wilson’s genius mind, takes the 70’s sound to our day with a unique and fresh breath; this special sound woven in layers, at times poppy, melodic, melancholic, dark and without doubt very, very beautiful. Being Steven’s peer, I often find myself carried back to my childhood by this wonderful sound.. And when I stop and think about the progressive structure of Steven’s extraordinary music, I find myself surprised and mesmerized about the beauty and the originality of these progressions. In that sense, I must say that Steven Wilson’s solo projects and his Blackfield with Aviv Geffen hold a special place in my heart. I also must add that Steven Wilson reinvents English rock tradition and Sir Elton John’s legacy, thinking about Elton John’s wonderful compositions Electricity, Solidarity and many more from Billy Elliot. Steven, also a true wizard in mix and mastering, adds his golden touch to past Jethro Tull albums as Ian Anderson told us in The Prog Years concert held in İstanbul last month.
Now a detailed analysis of the album C/C: Porcupine Tree is now without Colin Edwin and with Richard Barbieri on keyboards and synthesizers, Gavin Harrison (King Crimson and The Pineapple Thief) on drums and percussion, and of course Steven Wilson on vocals, guitars and bass. I truly liked the new C/C album with this current lineup. I have seen lots of negative comments from metal music critics: I frankly dunno what they are looking for; if they are comparing C/C to past PT albums they are in the wrong territory. Or maybe they do not like the PT sound. I find the new C/C album beautiful and spectacular, seamless in tone and philosophy and I think that it stands very close to my fave PT albums Deadwing and In Absentia and to Steven Wilson’s solo works. C/C album with all its lyrics, philosophy and musical tone, paints the picture of the dark modern days just like Steven’s solo work “The Future Bites”. While showing us the beauty and depth of progressive, the album stands out with its dark pop-electronica sound. Let’s look a little bit closer: the opening track Harridan sets the tone and satisfies the listener with its groovy bass intro, interesting and complex rhythms, Gavin Harrison’s virtuoso drumming and its catchy melody. Its dark synthwork evokes the coldness of space age, and underlines our dystopian future. Harridan meaning an unpleasant and repulsive old woman, leaves us with pessimistic thoughts, not with the music but with its lyrics:
When we bite the dust
We will hide our cuts from the world
When you’re in the dirt
You don’t show your hurt to the world.
Those lyrics which accentuate the darkness and the pain, might be referring to our days darkened by the coronavirus, knowing that C/C is the fruit of the pandemic. One might further see subliminal messages about the fear and disgust from the old age (Harridan) and the terror caused by dark future waiting at our door step.
The ending lyrics ask the following questions and the track Harridan poses these same questions musically, closing with its major tone and thus without conclusion:
And what of us?
And what of me?
And what is left without you?
Of The New Day starts as a dark lament and reaches an Opethian sound, reminiscent of the wonderful Lazarus. C/C has been a great listening experience: the main reason I like this new album might be its standing very close to past Opeth albums and Steven’s solo works. The track, dark in its musical tone and lyrics, paints a gloomy view of our modern world just like Steven Wilson’s “The Future Bites” and tells the tale of the man being crushed by the new day and the dark future.
Rats Return, full of cold and creepy synthwork and vocals, warns us about today’s leaders, acting with greed and arrogance. According to Wilson, the main idea behind the song is that our world is too precious to be trusted to those wicked leaders as they will be the first ones to leave all of us behind in order to save themselves when we face a global disaster: exactly like the rats escaping from a sinking ship. Rats Return made me think about last year’s impressive satire “Don’t Look Up” starring Meryl Streep as the selfish and repulsive President full of greed and arrogance (Spoiler ahead!). This horrible character leaves her people behind and hops on a spaceship built by another equally disgusting character (a grotesque Elon Musk meets Bill Gates) as the world is about to end. The song is again parallel in philosophy with Jethro Tull’s Clasp with all the leaders seen shaking hands in a most uncandid way. (full review of Jethro Tull İstanbul concert The Prog Years is available here at metaloda.com https://metaloda.com/jethro-tull-istanbul-konseri/). I am positive that all these greedy leaders are ready to abandon us to save themselves just like Steven Wilson tells us in Rats Return.
My fave track from the album Dignity is about a cast out boy (and the schoolgirls call you a freak): Dignity has been a pleasure to listen to because of its melodic and nostalgic structure with a little Pink Floydish touch. I say a little because I know very well that Steven Wilson hates PF comparisons. Here I must add that I am not a big PF fan except for those songs coming from master Gilmour. The second half of Dignity bears strong resemblances to songs such as In My Time of Need, Hope Leaves and To Rid the Disease from Steven-Opeth collaboration album “Damnation”. Let us not forget to mention here the PT albums In Absentia, Dead Wing and Fear of A Blank Planet, those wonderful outcomes of the Akerfeldt-Wilson friendship. We should thank the universe for making way to the cosmic meeting of these two great music men.
Herd Culling is another Metal Oda favorite from the album with its familiar PT sound, woven with eerie synthwork. Herd Culling sounds like Heard Calling at first sight: I must add here that Steven Wilson likes to play on words (i.e. Sound of Muzak). Herd Culling made me think about two wonderful thrillers of one great director of our time, M. Night Shyamalan: 2002 Signs and 2004 The Village. The song is about an unknown threat coming from the woods:
We came to make a home here
But there is something in the trees
We bolt the door, chain the gate, secure homestead
But it’s never gonna leave.
I think that musically the weakest link from the album C/C is Walk The Plank: standing out with its dark lyrics, this is the second song from the album speaking about the rats leaving a sinking ship. “Walk the plank” was a form of execution practiced by the pirates, by making the blindfolded victims walk to their death on a plank tied to a ship’s deck. Does Steven want to say that we are all the passengers of this very ship heading towards an inevitable end? The answer would be a big yes, considering all the themes of darkness and hopelessness underlined in C/C.
Chimera’s Wreck is a dark lullaby with hints of Iron Maiden style progression after 5:00 and strong Rush effects are noticed in Population Three. My favorite of the last four tracks has been Never Have: I think that Never Have could have been the closing track because it puts together and concludes the album in terms of music and lyrics, leaving the listener with the urge to go back to the beginning and listen once again.
Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree speak about the darkness of the modern times and draw our attention to the vicious circle of consumerism and the coldness of industrialization in our money-driven world (The Future Bites) :
You hurt, but you never try,
To face facts,
This is the modern world.
To end this review, I must say that I loved the album Closure/Continuation by Porcupine Tree. As Master Wilson once said in a recent interview, the world really doesn’t need any more music (i.e. mainstream music). But being devoted listeners of their “good music”, I must say, we definitely need more music coming from Steven and his friends.
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