The Pineapple Thief – Far And Wide

Sometimes you have a band that has been around for so long that you forget how hard they can actually rock. The Pineapple Thief is such a band. Bruce Soord started out in 1999 in Yeovil as a one-man project, after his previous band Vulgar Unicorn came to an end. Fans wanted more, and that studio hobby grew into a real group, with Jon Sykes on bass and Steve Kitch on keyboards. The big leap came when Gavin Harrison, known from King Crimson and Porcupine Tree, took his place behind the drum kit in 2016. A decade has now passed and here is “Far And Wide”, the sixteenth album, which will be released on 9 October via InsideOut Music.

The band wanted to sound the way they sound live this time. You hear that immediately. There are fewer guitar layers and fewer vocal harmonies, and precisely because of that the songs have room to breathe. Where many prog bands cram every second full, The Pineapple Thief deliberately leaves space open here. That silence does just as much work as the instruments.

The opener “New World Order” was the first single and immediately shows what it is all about. It is a song with plenty of bite, with shadows in the riff and a chorus that sticks. It is followed by “Hold The Ashes”, which starts more quietly and slowly draws you in. In “Still Living”, you hear how fragile the band can sound without becoming weak. Soord sings vulnerably but never pitifully, and that makes it believable.

Halfway through comes “This Empty Space”, a song of more than six minutes that builds quietly and only breaks free late on. It is reminiscent of Radiohead, although the band does not need a postcard from them for that. “Scattering Like Flies” and “Through The Noise” keep the pace going and show how well the rhythm section is in tune with each other. Harrison plays as cleverly as ever, but never to draw attention to himself. The album closes with a long final piece that begins as if a voice is breaking through the darkness. It is not a grand firework display, more a flickering little light at the last moment, and that fits the lyrics perfectly.

Because they are about something. There is a society in turmoil, courage in the face of adversity and personal loss that continues to reverberate. Soord does not turn it into a sermon. He takes the world news we all watch scroll past and translates it into songs that simply touch you. You do not have to follow a prog lecture to feel that.

What also makes this album clever is that it works as a whole. Nine songs, no filler, and you can pick a few out for a playlist, but then you miss the arc. Put it on in the car and let it play until the end. That is how this record is meant to be.

This is not a new direction. Anyone hoping for surprising twists will mainly find a band that stands more firmly on its feet. But sometimes that is exactly what you want: professionals who know what they are doing and simply let you hear it. “Far And Wide” is a warm, serious and well-made rock record that will keep me occupied for quite some time yet. (8/10) (InsideOut Music)