Porcupine Tree
The Delerium Years 1991-1997 TRANSMISSION
Steven Wilson-led prog gods’ early years get the high-spec box-set treatment.
Steven Wilson’s attention to detail has long been one of his most endearing traits. Everything the modern prog maven does, he does with finesse and a slightly alarming degree of intensity. Thus his former band Porcupine Tree’s six-year Delerium Records output has been remastered and repackaged into one of the most absurdly desirable box sets in recent memory (if, of course, you like this sort of thing).
Fans will already own the vast majority of this music, of course. But, as with every Wilson-led project, The Delerium Years is both comprehensive and sonically dazzling. It’s also a fascinating record of the band’s rapid evolution. There’s a world of difference between the occasionally hokey bedroom psychedelia of 1992 debut On The Sunday Of Life and the supremely well-drilled, precise and powerful band showcased on 1997’s Coma Divine, but Wilson’s endless curiosity and singular vision drives every moment along the way.
Studio albums and tell their own story, as Porcupine Tree harnessed recognisable tropes from prog and psychedelia and gave them a state-of-theart upgrade, embracing electronica’s endless malleability and (eventually) the satisfying crunch of modern metal that feels like the most momentous batch of songs here – as they transitioned from one-man studio project to authentic, full-bore live entity, Porcupine Tree conjured some career-defining tunes, not least epic and the sweet paranoia of .
