Reviewed September 6th 2020
For a lot of bands there is the problem that once you’ve released an absolute blinder of an album, then everything else you bring out is compared to that high benchmark…
For the progressive rock band The Pineapple Thief that album is the 2016 release Your Wilderness, their first to feature the drumming giant Gavin Harrison. That was an album that was beautifully structured, bringing so many emotions and feels together in a wonderfully cohesive and narrative way.
Their really good follow-up, 2018’s Dissolution, was, for the most part, a victim of the aforementioned comparison problem, with critics and some listeners overlooking it because it wasn’t THAT ALBUM! A bit like Sgt Pepper’s by The Beatles high benchmark against Let It Be… Hmm, bad analogy, because Let It Be was lacking, but you get the idea!
Here with their new album, Versions Of The Truth, The Pineapple Thief have an album that again has a narrative flow, and the musicianship is once again at a great level (Gavin’s drumming prowess and ingenuity is staggering, and wonderfully locks with Jon Sykes bass), and it is a good album, but…
To me there’s less of an epic mix of feels through the songs emotionally, instead seeming to keep a very steady, almost one dimensional, feel to the whole, which, sometimes works well for some bands.
In saying that though, it is still a good standard rock band album, as opposed to the progressive rock band that they have been designated as. There is a lovely sense of melody and harmony that flows throughout, giving it potential for radio friendliness.
So, after all that I’ve said so far, it’s one that I will come back to, because I want it to really grab my attention more, because at the moment it’s not up there, but I sense an inkling in those bits I pointed out, that I will eventually like this album a lot more in the future!
The Marv Zone 