May 22, 2000 - Lightbulb Sun

Two weeks after my last release and only a little over a year since "Stupid Dream", Porcupine Tree released their sixth album "Lightbulb Sun" on May 22, 2000. Porcupine Tree continue the trend established on their last album of a generally more accessible and pop-y approach, but they also harken back to their psychedelic beginnings with some experimental stuff as well and the use of lots of different instruments and types of keyboards. Let's check out the latest from P-Tree!

The album kicks off with the title track "Lightbulb Sun" and Steven Wilson plays a nice acoustic guitar riff and sings a nice soft verse to match the mood. Richard Barbieri adds some nice light piano and eventually Wilson's guitar switches to electric and things sound pretty cool. Colin Edwin finally joins in with some solid bass to complete the main riff and things sound really good in both settings. The acoustic, quieter part sounds very solid and when things get louder I think they sound even better. Chris Maitland's drums sound good in the background while Wilson delivers a slow but epic guitar solo and then they close out the final minute with some more quiet acoustic stuff. This was a pretty cool way to kick things off! Up next is "How Is Your Life Today?" and Barbieri leads the way with a cool piano riff and Wilson sings a nice high verse overtop and things sound quietly epic as the two of them play by themselves. Wilson starts layering in multiple vocals and that makes things sound even more epic. Wilson plays a slow "solo" on a different kind of keyboard overtop and that takes us right to the end of this shorter song. It was well done and I liked it even though it was pretty tame. Track 3 is "Four Chords That Made A Million" and just like the name suggests, this is a good choice for a single with a catchy and accessible main riff. Maitland plays some interesting drums and Wilson sounds good singing the verse. They eventually settle into a solid rock and roll riff with a catchy chorus and while this is pretty basic and accessible, it's still executed pretty perfectly. The rhythm section sounds cool when they break things down midway through, then it's back to the catchy main riff to jam things out. The next track is "Shesmovedon" and it's got a slow pace, but the drums and bass are catchy and Wilson leads a pretty smooth verse. The acoustic guitar in the chorus is also really smooth and Wilson sounds so solid on vocals as well. The next verse has some louder guitar and after another chorus Edwin plays some cool bass to back a lengthy guitar solo by Wilson and Steven plays lots of great and epic stuff in this long solo! It takes us almost to the end of the song, then they nicely wrap things up and the end carries right into Track 5, "Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled". Wilson plays a few different kinds of guitars and riffs in an interesting opening before coming in to sing a typically smooth verse. Edwin's bass sounds pretty cool and Barbieri eventually adds some space-y and cool keyboards as well to make this a pretty unique and interesting tune. We hear a man's voice talk about how a group of people, supposedly from another dimension, are preparing to leave Earth and return "from whence they came". This song is based off of a real cult who thought by committing mass suicide they would be "saved". It's an interesting topic, but the talking doesn't make for the best song and the second half is decent but nothing too special. Up next is "The Rest Will Flow" and Wilson leads the way with some catchy acoustic guitar and some smooth singing. Barbieri adds all kinds of different keyboards that make things sound like an orchestra is playing with them and even though it's all pretty light it's still really smooth and interesting for sure. The verse and chorus are one and the same and it's Barbieri's various keyboards that keep things fresh the whole way through. Track 7 is "Hatesong" and Edwin plays a super catchy and cool bass riff to start us off. Maitland comes in with some catchy drums to match, Wilson plays some quiet guitar and Barbieri eventually adds some piano as well. It's a pretty interesting main riff and Wilson sings a nice verse that matches the mood perfectly. Things get louder and Wilson's guitar sounds solid, then they hit reset. After another solid round things quiet down and Wilson takes us in anew direction with a catchy new guitar riff. This riff sets the stage for a very long guitar solo and Wilson takes his time and plays a bunch of sweet stuff! Parts are slow and trippy, and others were pretty fast and awesome, overall a pretty good solo! After a short chorus Wilson starts up the catchy backing riff again and the rhythm section takes the spotlight as we hear some cool variations on Edwin's main bass riff and Maitland plays some cool drums. This song is very progressive at eight and a half minutes with all it's different sections, but everything sounds pretty damn good to me. The next track is "Where We Would Be" and Wilson plays a soft and slow guitar riff and sings a quiet verse overtop. Wilson also sings backing vocals and having two Stevens nust adds to the quiet epicness of this song. Wilson plays a distorted and trippy guitar "solo" that is pretty simple but sounds cool nonetheless and that pretty much sums up this whole song as well. Track 9 is the 13-plus minute "Russia On Ice" and it starts off with a very slow riff that sounds pretty epic even though there's not a ton happening and Edwin plays a cool backing bass riff. Wilson sings a slow smooth verse to match the mood and he adds some slow but pretty epic and cool guitar between verses. His next guitar break is longer and I would call a full solo, and Wilson does a great job of playing some slow yet epic guitar that fits the mood perfectly. After another chorus Edwin starts up a new bass riff that is also pretty sweet and they segue really nicely and progressively from the first half of the song into this new second half. Wilson emerges with a nice heavy guitar riff and just when you think you've nailed down this new riff, they change things up dramatically with an offbeat and very interesting new riff that is hard to describe, but it sounds pretty cool! They build up from here and once Maitland's drums are in full force they, and everything, sound pretty awesome! This was a pretty sweet song and I loved it's progressiveness! The last minute is pretty quiet and it leads into the album's final track "Feel So Low". Barbieri plays some quiet keyboards and as the name suggests, this is a sappier and sadder song. Wilson plays some light guitar overtop and then sings a nice soft verse to match the mood. It's probably my least favourite song on the album because it's nowhere close to heavy and the violins make things sound even more sad. They perform it well, but it's pretty repetitive and just too light for my tastes.

That is the end of "Lightbulb Sun" and I thought it was a pretty good album overall. "Hatesong" was definitely my favourite but there was lots of really catchy and cool music on this album. Steven Wilson continues to write some great songs and each other member of the band had a really good showing as well. I think it's easily better than their first four albums, but I think it's pretty close with their last album "Stupid Dream", which was also very good overall. I think I like this newest album a little more so "Lightbulb Sun" takes the new top rung! Porcupine Tree keep getting better each album! It couldn't possibly continue...could it?!