September 30, 1996 - Signify

Two weeks after my last release and 20 months since "The Sky Moves Sideways", Porcupine Tree released their fourth album "Signify" on September 30, 1996. This is the first Porcupine Tree album where they went into recording as a whole band! It also marks a slight shift in style. While there are still elements of their psychedelic past, this album is pretty progressive and has a lot more standard song structures than the long, experimental music from earlier. Let's see what the latest Porcupine Tree has to offer!

The album begins with a short song called "Bornlivedie" and it's got a quaint little intro before we hear a very space-y and psychedelic rest of the song. It's so trippy it sounds like it could be off their debut! At the end someone says "signify" and things move right into the title track "Signify". Steven Wilson leads the way with a catchy guitar riff and everyone else builds around that. Richard Barbieri adds Barbieri space-y keyboards to the background that sound cool and eventually Colin Edwin takes up the main riff on bass so Wilson can play a simple but solid solo overtop. There are no vocals on this song, but it's still a solid tune and it ends on a nice note. The first song to have actual singing is track 3, "Sleep Of No Dreaming". Barbieri leads the verse with a slow but cool little keyboard riff and Wilson takes over in the chorus with some loud and solid guitar. Wilson's singing sounds good as usual and he goes pretty high in the chorus. They slowly jam through these two parts and don't stray far from that. The next song is another short instrumental called "Pagan" and it's another psychedelic blast from the past, though not a ton is happening on this one. Track 5 is the only single off the album and it's called "Waiting (Phase One)". It has a pretty catchy main riff with Wilson playing acoustic guitar and Edwin playing some solid bass. Most of the song is softer, but there are a couple louder parts that really stand out. Wilson's first guitar break was just like a louder version of the main riff, but he's fully soloing in the other part and he plays some pretty sweet stuff! This awesome solo takes us right to the end of this song, but it leads perfectly and predictably into "Waiting (Phase Two)". Chris Mairland plays some cool percussion in this interesting opening to phase two that has some cool trippy guitar as well. Barbieri's space-y keyboards fit right in and Maitland's percussion elevates to a full drum beat that sounds pretty cool. Everyone steps up their game, including some sweet guitar by Wilson and while this is not as radio accessible, I think it's easily the better of the two phases! They finish it off with a quiet and trippy ending that actually leads into the next song as well! Track 7 is "Sever" and it's a slower one with Barbieri playing some solid piano while Wilson sings nicely overtop. Wilson plays some decent guitar but they don't stray far from the verse and chorus, which makes this a decent but not great song. The next track is a seven-and-a-half minute instrumental called "Idiot Prayer" and it also sounds like it could be off an earlier P-Tree with a very psychedelic vibe. Maitland plays an interesting percussion beat and there's even what sounds like a flute! After this space-y opening a new drum beat sends us on a different course and Wilson and Edwin play a simple but solid new riff. We hear a voice talking overtop the music, but it's Wilson's guitar that sounds pretty cool. There's definitely some cool stuff in this louder part, and then they quiet it down again for the finish. Track 9 is "Every Home Is Wired" and Wilson leads the way with a catchy acoustic guitar riff and some nice soft vocals. He echoes his voice in the chorus so it sounds like there are lots of Steven's singing all the time for a nice effect. After three minutes or so, the whole song shifts moods as Maitland plays a new drum beat and Wilson kind of unexcitedly plays out the last couple minutes in a bit of a strange finish. Up next is "Intermediate Jesus" and it has a slow and space-y main riff with some cool bass by Edwin and some trippy guitar by Wilson. We hear a preacher talking over the music from time to time, one clip being :"you need more than just advice..., you need Christ". A strange choice to have overtop the music, but the music is some good old psychedelic P-Tree with solid contributions from everyone. They psychedelically jam for pretty much the whole seven and half minutes and I can certainly dig that! Track 11 is "Light Mass Prayers" and it takes trippy and space-y to the extreme! It's very simple, repeated droning effect, which sounds boring, but the note wavers as it drones and things sound really trippy! I can't say it's a particularly exciting song, but on some good drugs, I bet it sounds really cool! The final song on the album is it's longest song "Dark Matter". Each member comes in one by one until the main riff is complete and Wilson leads the way with some nice light guitar and some solid singing. The chorus has sole louder guitar and things sound very smooth and silky. After a couple verses Barbieri plays a new keyboard riff to take us in a new direction and Wilson plays a long guitar solo that sounds pretty epic and takes us pretty much to the end of the song. After a bit of silence the song ends as it began with this voice that hilariously says "you've just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy. And you're more more relaxed than you've been in weeks. All those childhood traumas magically wiped away, along with most of your personality." What a funny way to end an album!

That is the end of "Signify" and I thought it was a pretty good album! It was still very psychedelic just like their other albums, but there were also some more standard songs and those were good too! Unlike their last album which had several long songs, I liked the variance that more shorter songs brought to this one. They are both pretty good, but I think "Signify" is their best album yet! Porcupine Tree continue to rise, can they keep it up?