siLLy puPPy Beginning with “Signify” PORCUPINE TREE was going beyond the mere solo project of Steven Wilson’s psychedelic whim and evolving into a bonafide progressive rock band that was gradually adding elements of alternative rock and metal but you can’t just simply switch off one’s love for psychedelic space rock that takes you to planet Lysergia and in the process of recording “Signify” the band members of PORCUPINE TREE decided to have a little fun with spontaneous space rock jams in the vein of classic 1970s Krautrock.

The result was a set of tracks that would be released between “Signify” and “Stupid Dream” called METANOIA which referred back to Wilson’s early years in the vein of “On the Sunday of Life” or “Up The Downstair” only with no vocals and really no songwriting of any kind. One of those releases that found many formats and track listings, METANOIA originally came out as a 10” double vinyl record in December 1998 with a limited 1000 copy run but rereleased in 2001 on CD with extra tracks. Given that they are entirely improvised instrumental jams, whichever release you find yourself hearing will pretty much yield the same results.

Unlike anything else in the PORCUPINE TREE canon, METANOIA pretty much took the psychedelic space rock of the band’s early years and really went off the deep end. The results were something that sounded like a less acid guitar fuzz fueled version of Guru Guru’s classic 1970 debut or even something the Cosmic Jokers would’ve dreamed up. The tracks more or less run together and the three versions of “Mesmer” and the title track mean that the hour long listening experience (if you have the CD like i do) is somewhat of a monotonous one that is more suitable for totally escaping your consciousness in a meditative way rather than relying on melodies or lyrical stories to guide you through the musical processions.

The tracks included are primarily based around a bass groove that finds many guitar and keyboards improvisations developing around. The drums serve for keeping the beat but are allowed off the leash once in a while for some more adventurous drumming workouts. Given there are no vocals except a few spoken word segments, it’s really the instrumentation that offers subtle variations over the main groove that give the album any serious grit. As i’ve mentioned, the early years of Krautrock seem to provide the most inspiration as the band looked more to Germany than English psychedelic space rock for references.

This one is hardly an essential album from the great PORCUPINE TREE in any way but for diehards who relish the band’s unique style and want to check out other musical expressions that yield some clues as to how the band crafts the more sophisticated albums, METANOIA certainly offers some breadcrumbs into the psych parts of the band’s overall sound. While mostly on chill mode there are a few moments of upbeat action complete with sizzling guitar workouts and galloping bass and drums. Like all PT albums, the production and mixing is impeccable which means this is like the perfect Kraut jam record of the modern ages.

Any true PORCUPINE TREE fan will get to this eventually but even though it’s a fun ride now and again, it’s not really an essential listening experience at but rather a modern tribute to the early psychedelic 70s when musical freedom was en vogue. While the music is pleasant enough there are also a couple pointless spoken word conversations which are completely unnecessary the worst being the closing “Milan” where presumably the band members are discussing what they plan to eat in a restaurant complete with crowd noise. Yeah, this was not intended to be a serious release, just a decent supplemental dose of PORCUPINE TREE at its most laid back devoid of the pressures of crafting all those cleverly brilliant tunes that they would become famous for.

Warthur The Signify period, which saw Porcupine Tree gelling further as a band (having been more of a Steven Wilson solo project prior to The Sky Moves Sideways), certainly yielded plenty of material beyond the studio album itself. As well as the Coma Divine live album from the tour and the Insignificance collection of studio off-cuts, it also provided us with Metanoia, a collection of live-in-the studio improvised jam sessions which the band indulged in.

Some of the material here would be picked up and used as the basis of more polished tracks - Intermediate Jesus on the Signify album had its backing track derived from an edit of one of these improvisations, for example - but most of this is unique to Metanoia, and all of it is offered in a rather different context.

If you like the more song-oriented side of Porcupine Tree, you won't find that here: what you will find is material remarkably like the sort of spacey, jazzy jams which the early 1970s krautrock scene was fond of turning out. If you like the spacier, less focused parts of On the Sunday of Life or Voyage 34, you're in the right sort of territory, though the Edwin/Maitland rhythm section adds a certain amount of drive to these jams not present in those earlier works which helps ensure that the release isn't just going over old ground.

FMOTP This may be a add-on to PT's main output, but it's still PT! This is probably the most experimental, kraut rock-influenced album Wilson released under the Porcupine Tree label. As a result it's not a part of my regular musical diet; I need more structure. However many people love this aspect of PT and they should surely appreciate METANOIA. Not surprisingly, it's brilliantly played. Colin Edwin and Richard Barbieri are sometimes the unsung heroes of the band; I'm assuming they had significant input to this recording. The nature of these songs ensures that they get a well-deserved, large part of the spotlight.. I think I would rather listen to Porcupine Tree play this brand of rock than any one else. This is an enjoyable alternative to Porcupine Tree's main discography.