Rock
Progressive Rock
Track, rate, and sort your album collection.
Porcupine Tree’s 2022 comeback album, Closure / Continuation, marked the band’s dramatic return after a 12-year hiatus, delivering a razor-sharp, angular, and deeply atmospheric evolution of their modern progressive sound. Recorded as a core trio of Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison, and Richard Barbieri—with Wilson taking over bass duties following Colin Edwin's departure—the record captures a leaner, more collaborative energy built around intricate rhythm interplay and tight, surgical arrangements.
Wilson’s bass work is central to the album's identity, characterized by a prominent, punchy, Rickenbacker-esque growl that acts as a lead voice alongside his trademark heavy, drop-tuned guitar riffs and delicate acoustic textures. Gavin Harrison’s drumming is at the absolute peak of technical mastery, driving the music with mind-bending polyrhythms, displacement, and explosive dynamic contrast. Richard Barbieri’s synth design provides the atmospheric glue—weaving subtle modular textures, analog pads, and eerie soundscapes that elevate the record’s dark, existential tension.
From the aggressive, odd-meter metal drive of "Harridan" and "Rats Return" to the haunting, pop-infused melancholy of "Of the New Day" and the sprawling, 9-minute progressive centerpiece "Chimera's Wreck," Closure / Continuation proves that Porcupine Tree's signature sound remained as vital, heavy, and innovative as ever.