PORCUPINE TREE — The Sky Moves Sideways (review)

PORCUPINE TREE — The Sky Moves Sideways album cover

Album · 1995 · Non-Metal

3.5/5 · 2021-05-19
UMUR

"The Sky Moves Sideways" is the 3rd full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Porcupine Tree. The album was released through Delirium Records in January 1995. It´s the successor to "Up The Downstair" from 1993 and while it essentially started out as another solo album by Steven Wilson under the Porcupine Tree monicker (like the first two albums), halfway through the recordings for the album Porcupine Tree became a band unit, as Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), and Chris Maitland (drums), joined Wilson to complete the first real Porcupine Tree band lineup. The former two had already guested on "Up The Downstair (1993)".

The original European version of "The Sky Moves Sideways" features 6 tracks. The "Phase 1" and "Phase 2" of the title track bookending the album. Both tracks exceeding 15 minutes in length. The remaining tracks are "Dislocated Day", "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder", "Prepare yourself", and the 17:04 minutes long "Moonloop". The latter is an edited and overdubbed version of a 40-minutes long improvisation recorded live at the Doghouse studio on 28 June 1994. The US version omits "Prepare yourself" but includes the track "Stars Die" instead. The two long title tracks are divided into shorter individual tracks on the US version and "Moonloop" is featured in an edited 8:11 minutes long version.

Because of the two pieces of the title track bookending the album comparisons to "Wish You Were Here (1975)" by Pink Floyd have often been made, and I agree to some extent as the most mellow, ambient, and spaced out sections of the tracks are clearly greatly influenced by mid-70s Pink Floyd. The more upbeat and busy middle section of "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1" is more similar to the sound of an act like Ozric Tentacles though. "Dislocated Day" is slightly harder edged and rocking, but still featuring relatively sedated vocals. But it´s the track on "The Sky Moves Sideways" mostly pointing towards future endeavors. "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" is a mellow Pink Floyd influenced track ending on a louder slightly more heavy note. It seques directly into the short ambient instrumental "Prepare yourself", which again seques directly into the massive improvised jam track "Moonloop". It´s a very slow building ambient track and honestly it´s a bit uneventful and way too long for its own good. "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 2", closes the original European version of the album. While it shares some of the themes from "Phase 1" it´s still quite a different sounding track. The Pink Floyd influence is there in abundance though. "Stars Die" which as mentioned above is only featured on the US version of the album, is a pleasant and mellow vocal/acoustic guitar driven vers/chorus structured psychadelic pop/rock track, featuring a melancholic and tranquil atmosphere, slowly building in intensity and volume to its climax. A guitar solo climax which could easily have been a little longer and added more depth to the track.

"The Sky Moves Sideways" is well produced, featuring an organic and detailed sound production, suiting the material perfectly, and upon conclusion it´s a quality release by Porcupine Tree. I personally find "Moonloop" unnecessarily long and a little tedious, but the remaining part of the album is great quality psychadelic/space rock loaded with slow building ambient sonic landscapes, organic rhythmic playing, mellow acoustic guitar chords, and soaring lead guitars, and when they occur the sedated and tranquil vocals of Wilson to provide a melancholic spice. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.