Shaking the Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree really pushes all the right buttons for me. I was originally turned onto them because the Rush fanboys were going on about their music. That alone wasn't enough to get me interested, but once Alex decided to guest-play on their Fear of a Blank Planet, I sat up and took notice. The album title is terribly annoying, but the music is quite exceptional. A crazy combination of Tool, Pink Floyd, and Rush; now that's progressive. And having Robert Fripp play from time-to-time doesn't hurt.

What's more, these guys care about their sound quality. The discs I own aren't overly loud, and the instruments have plenty of space to move around in. Many of their releases are available as a true high resolution DVD-Audio (with both stereo and 5.1 mixes). They also sell flac files and high quality vinyl via Burning Shed. Thus, no matter what format you prefer, they'll sell it to you.

Their latest release, Nil Recurring, is a 30 minute EP originally only available for purchase at their concerts. It is currently being sold via their on-line store as a limited edition CD or by way of digital music files (mp3 or flac). It's also included in the Blank Planet DVD-A (high resolution 5.1 only).