In Absentia from Porcupine Tree, by a hair my favorite of the band. Very moody, very energetic, plenty of variation. Like always, the band has a lot to say, but they speak their mind with such grace. (Unlike, say, Pain of Salvation, who are unbelievably blunt.) PT were on the top of their game with this one, any Alt or Prog Rock fans should give it a chance. About my only issue with the album is the track Strip The Soul, which in my opinion is the weakest by far on the album and it's the second to the last track. It drags on a bit and just sounds quite generic, to be honest. But regardless of that, a very fine album I can't hear enough.
Fear of A Blank planet, Porcupine Tree's most recent effort is probably my least favorite. (Though I think their earliest material might be weaker, I need to give it more listens to form a solid opinion.) FoABP has some good themes and messages to it and one of my favorite PT tracks ever, Anesthetize. Not a bad album, I would say, just almost incomplete. It feels slightly like an EP. Ends in a rather awkward manner. Leaves me thinking "That's it" everytime. PT have an EP coming out soon which apparently has more tracks from the FoaBP sessions. I'm looking forward to it. So as it stands, this is my least favorite simply because it feels unfinished and the music doesn't feel as refined as some of their other albums. With the exception of Anesthetize, which is one fine little track.
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