Porcupine Tree: The Incident

Artist: Porcupine Tree
Album: The Incident
Date Released: September 15, 2009
Genre: progressive rock, hard rock
Rating: 7.4

Porcupine Tree's The Incident is by no means their best work, but as many PT fans will acknowledge, they're still light-years ahead of most bands working in the prog genre. Though the songs often feel hurried and not fully realized, Steve Wilson's magical studio touches and his ability to weave gorgeous melodies from thin air contribute to a very listenable and hooky 2-CD album.

The Incident's tracks are at times overly sentimental and derivative ("Time Flies" borrows a little too heavily from Pink Floyd's Animals for my liking), but it's hard to not get caught up in the thought provoking lyrics and the teasingly infrequent but infectious chugga-chugga guitar riffing. Track highlights include "Black Dahlia," "The Incident," "Octane Twisted," and "Circle of Manias."