Pineapple Thief - Abducting The Unicorn

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Artist:	Pineapple Thief
Title:	Abducting The Unicorn
Label:	Cyclops CYCL 079
Length(s):	69 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1999
Month of review:	01/2000

Line up

Bruce Soord - guitars, vocals
Nick Lang - keyboards, drums, programming
Mark Harris - bass

Tracks

1)	Private Paradise	11.47
2)	Drain	6.35
3)	Whatever You Do - Do Nothing	6.18
4)	No One Leaves This Earth	5.56
5)	Punish Yourself	4.26
6)	Everyone Must Perish	4.36
7)	Judge The Girl	6.12
8)	Parted Forever	18.27
9)	??	4.27

Summary

Bruce Soord is mainly known from Vulgar Unicorn and now he has an extra band to play around in: Pineapple Thief.

The music

Not being one of Vulgar Unicorns greatest fans (although I do admire their search for the new), I was a bit anxious about this one. I'll not compare it much with Vulgar Unicorn. The first track is not really prog at the beginning: it reminds me more of the softer side of Smashing Pumpkins (also in the vocals) with modern rhythms and especially Pumpkinsian bass work. Then we come to a Floydian intermezzo, searing guitars, raising the expectations for what is to follow next: rolling drums at the outset and then the vocal part returns. Nice guitars at the end, but this is not prog. This is britpop with a good groove, a bit on the loud side maybe. Drain opens in the same style, with the same modern groovy rhythms and has some tense moments. Dark and mysterious at times and certainly varied enough. Then the music again builds up on a cutting guitar and the vocals set in again. Lots of sound on this track. At some times I'm reminded a bit of Radiohead, but that band is more sophisticated in my opinion. After some distortion we end up in Whatever You Do - Do Nothing. This is a bit of a willowy track opening with acoustic guitar and nicely audible guitar. What sticks with me in this music is the lightness of it all. Not the lightness of a feather, but of a bleak winter sun. In this song melody seems to come more to the fore. Dreamy, hazy vocals, but the chorus is not really to my liking. The instrumental intermezzo is quite nice again, rather like the beginning. No One Leaves This Earth opens repetitively and this does not change when the keyboards set in with their burbling sounds and effects. On a layer of cosmic keyboards, this is a bit a neo-psych. Certainly not without merit, but maybe a bit too freewheeling. The loud guitarsolo adds to this impression. The next track is a vocal track with an apealling chorus. The problem for me with britpop of this rather noisy/experimental type is that the melodies are often not striking enough and you really need good ones to stand above the rest. In this cases the chorus is good with good plodding percussion. Everyone Must Perish opens with minimal keyboards and some nice effects promising a lot for this track. Then the acoustic guitar sets in and some Asiatic vocals as well and the percussion rolls smoothly. A remarkable piece of music in which the guitar later adds to the repetitive nature of the track. Judge The Girl opens with echoey guitar after which the rock sets in, plain but driving, with some rather direct Radiohead influences (the chorus). Parted Forever is the epic of the album. After a nice intro, the rather quiet vocals, somewhat dreary, start. Then we get a slow build-up and this way it seems the band gets it right: slowly ascending, slightly psychedelic, but structured, we move onwards. Then the guitar lets off again, leaving us with percussion, acoustic guitar and some nice bass work. The working with tension in this track is quite good: relaxed parts, anticipatory passages are all nicely alternated, showing that the band has a sense of meaning. The untitled last track (on my copy at least) is a hazy one, with strumming acoustic guitar. A ballad with some distorting effects.

Nice impressionistic artwork.

Conclusion

Well, what can I say. I would be hard put to call this progressive in the sense of my webpage or the Gibraltar Encyclopedia. Some interesting new avenues are explored, but as with Vulgar Unicorn I'm not always satisfied with the outcome. The melodies often are not striking, the sounds owes quite a lot to Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead. If you are into Vulgar Unciron, it may be a good idea to take a listen. If you like your prog pure, this is not for you. This in itself says nothing of the quality of the music (I do hope everyone understands this much, but I'll repeat just to be on the safe side): Everyone Must Perish and the long last track are, for example, certainly worthwhile. In my case, mostly the former. I do feel that on the alternative charts this album should be able to make an impression.