In Absentia is brilliant (1 Viewer)

[Bob Turnbull]

Great tune...That's also off The Sky Moves Sideways. Strangely enough, the first time I ever heard that song was during a "New this week" segment on the local Edge radio station back around the album's release. I'd heard of Porcupine Tree at the time and was eager to hear them. They played the song and I loved it. Unfortunately the DJ had introduced the song by saying something like "Well, it looks like progressive rock is trying to make a comeback...Hmmm..."

And with that, I expect he had set the song up for failure with every young Edge listener...

 

[mackie]

And with that, I expect he had set the song up for failure with every young Edge listener...

That's too bad. Everyone I've introduce to PT has been impressed. I used IA as a reference when I was looking for speakers, and all but one of the dealers asked lots of questions about the disk. I guess it'd be a boring world if we all liked the same music.

Even if I don't like a band, especially an accomplished one, I like to give them credit. I don't really care for U2 or Led Zepplin, but I do recognize the talent. From reading some of the posts on this thread, PT might be a love'em or hate'em type of band.

 

[Brian L]

OK, it finally arrived, and I was able to give it a run through (well, 3/4's of it) before the family got home. Some very quick initial impressions:

1. Sound Quality......OK but not great. A bit disappointing, actually. The low end is lacking, and the highs, particularly the cymbals, sound a bit harsh in spots. And before someone questions my rig (a Denon 1600 via ICBM for BM, Marantz, B&W, HSU), I have DVD-A's where I actually need to turn the sub level down (Hotel California, as one example), and my sub is capable of below 25Hz in room response, so I know the rig is capable.

2. 5.1 Mix.....great. Not a lot of "Hey look at me!" stuff panned to the rears, but you are definitely in the center of the action, and the center channel seems to be well used. Nice.

3. The music.....great stuff. Very accessible. Parts of it are straight ahead hard rock, but certain tracks have a ethereal quality that lends itself very well to a 5.1 mix. There is even a track (The Trains is it?) that could be from Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

4. The lyrics? I would have to concur that some of these tracks are written by a seriously twisted mind (well, lets say written from the POINT OF VIEW of a seriously twisted mind).

I don't know that this will prevent me from enjoying the disc, but these are not stories of shiny, happy people. Actually, a couple of these stories are of people that, IMHO, would and should get the death penalty if caught in their deeds. Jeffrey Dalmer indeed, as Daryl mentioned. I think I will just leave the booklet in the case when I spin this one.

Funny someone mentioned Tool as a reference for dark lyrics. I have some how managed to NOT have any Tool in my collection, but have rectified that with Aenima and Lateralus. What I always liked about Tool was the music, but I will have to listen closely to those lyrics in comparison to In Absentia.

BGL

 

[gene c]

In a thread posted a few months ago I said exactly the same thing. I heard everything from Black Sabbath to CSN on IA. They say great minds think alike. Apparently average ones do as well! As for the dark lyrics, I didn't even notice them too much until reading this thread. They don't bother me if the music is good. If lyrics tell an interesting story I'll pay attention. Otherwise I ignore them and enjoy the music.

 

[NickSo]

Just bought the CD today (finally found it, albeit a 4 hour drive away... im on vacation, found a CD store that had it!)

Currently listening to it. Tracks 1 and 2 are pretty hard... track 3 is starting pretty slowly.

So far, im not 'ed by it yet... i must say, its better than radio music upon first listen.

 

[DaveDickey]

I wasn't overly impressed on the first listen, either. Multiple spins will pay big dividends, IMO. I can't vouch for the CD version, though the DVDA is superb.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I remember being pretty impressed when I first got it in late '02, but it wasn't really until this year that it just "clicked" with me.