Got the Blackfield (Steve Wilson) disc today.

[Finch Platte]

I'm kinda disappointed. The brains behind Porcupine Tree teamed up w/ a fellow named Aviv Geffen (someone clue me in on this guy?), and whew, is it mellow. It sounds a lot like PT, as far as the harmonies go, but there aren't many time changes, as PT might lean towards. It plods along prettily, with tinkly, atmospheric keyboard moods and sonically stunning drums, but if you're looking for ripping Porky Twee bass/drum/guitar duelings, as I was, you may be let down, too.

Comes with 3 "bonus" tracks- Perfect World, Where Is My Love and a live version of track 8- Cloudy Now, for a total of a coont-hair under 49 minutes of playing time. It's an enhanced CD, and I'm about to slip it into the 'pooter to see what happens. Edit: The enhanced version is the video of one song, "Blackfield". Boring as hell.

Check out the sticker on the front of the CD as it says something along the lines of "featuring Steven Wilson of Porcuprine (sic) Tree." D'oh!

Also picked up Death Cab For Cutie's Stability EP, a Bright Eyes EP w/ Take It Easy, Burn Rubber and Cremation, a Metamorphosis sampler and Dave Mason's Alone Together (God, MCA did a horrible job repackaging their discs.)

Total- $30. Ow.

fp

[N. Abstentia]

I'm with you on the Blackfield. I love the title track, but overall it just doesn't do much for me. The production seems very sterile to me, it needs warmed up a little bit.

[Troy]

Had it for a while.

It's like grocery store Porcupine Tree. You might actually hear it in the freezer aisle. PT-lite. Sanitized.

Sounds really clean. Inane tortured artist lyrics.

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, those were my initial impressions as well. It gets a little better with repeated listens, but it's not Porcupine Tree. Kind of reminds me of that Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles album, World of Bright Futures.

[3-LockBox]

I got this about a month ago and felt the same way. I actually used some of the tracks for a Steve Wilson comp I made fer-m-self, and it blends well with the stronger material, but alone, Blackfield seems a tad bit pedestrian, IMHO.