Porcupine Tree: The Sky Moves Sideways (1995)

Porcupine Tree was basically a project lead by Steven Wilson. Their earliest albums was recorded all by Wilson himself, but once he decided to tour, he assembled a real band. Like the Ozric Tentacles, Porcupine Tree got started by releasing privately-issued cassettes. Those cassettes were Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm (1989) and The Nostalgia Factory (1991). Their first proper label release was On the Sunday of Life (1992) which compiled material from those early cassettes.

1995’s The Sky Moves Sideways is an excellent followup to Up the Downstair (1993). The music has mellowed a bit from their previous effort, emphasizing a more spacy ambient feel. You’ll notice that with the opening cut, “The Colour of Air”. Parts of this song reminds me of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon (especially “Breathe”). “I Find That I’m Not There” is another killer piece, this time it reminds me more of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. But before you think that Porcupine Tree are Pink Floyd wannabes, there is more to their sound than that.

There’s the techno-oriented “Wire the Drum” that has more in common with the likes of the Ozric Tentacles. “Wire the Drum” then segues in to “Spiral Circus”, which goes back in to ambient territory. “Stars Die” is largely an acoustic piece that segues into a killer spacy piece called “Moonloop”. “The Moon Touches Your Shoulder” is another stunning piece, and is my favorite acoustic number.

The album ends with “Is… Not” and “Off the Map” which contains many excerpts from previous cuts on the album. I love this album. Not too often do I find an album with a modern sound and a modern production that grabs me like this. This is the kind of album I like listening to at night, just like many of the Ozric Tentacles albums.

This album is what I wished Pink Floyd was doing in later years, rather than giving us albums like A Momentary Lapse of Reason. So if you’re a fan of space rock, particularly that of Pink Floyd and Ozric Tentacles, you’re bound to enjoy The Sky Moves Sideways.