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I'm caught in a loop now

A Floyd Fan's Introduction to Pineapple Thief

by Patrick Keller

I would like to start out this edition of Different Tunes by telling you how brilliant Pineapple Thief is, and urge you to immediately rush out and purchase everything you can find with their name on it. I'd like to, but I can't (although they are), because first I have to cop to something: I've failed you, faithful readers. In my quest to give the most complete picture of Pineapple Thief, this month's spotlighted band as good companion listening for fans of Pink Floyd, I intended to also delve into that group's ascendant, Vulgar Unicorn. I even entered into some eBay auctions in an attempt to obtain all the records of that group, so I could manage a better understanding of the proverbial loins from which Pineapple Thief sprang.

My eBay strategy proved less than successful, however; I managed to secure one copy of an out-of-print disc by the group for considerably more than I could have scored an entire collection if I'd been more on the ball.

So, you know, sorry.

From what I can glean from the one Unicorn album I did obtain, Sleep with the Fishes, Pineapple Thief mastermind Bruce Soord's first band (a collaboration with bassist/keyboard player/vocalist Neil Randall) is very much a hardcore prog rock outfit in the vein of Peter Gabriel's Genesis or Fripp's King Crimson. The songs are long, layered, and complicated, the time signatures complex, and the lyrics obtuse. Refreshingly, the group isn't afraid to mix contemporary instrumentation (sampled beats, sequencers, effects) into the songs, which keeps the album from turning into an extended exercise in retro-prog wankery.

I have to admit that I have never really given the album a fair shake. It just isn't my cup of tea, which is a tremendous disappointment, because Pineapple Thief very much is. The production on Fishes hasn't aged well, the mixed-genre songwriting often feels like flash for flash's sake, and all told things just don't add up. All the balance that Soord manages on his own is utterly out of whack on the Vulgar Unicorn album. (To be fair, on his website Soord himself admits that Fishes "does not flow, and sonically it is poor in places, but there are certainly lots of interesting tunes to be discovered here." And perhaps someday I'll manage to do that.)

Pineapple Thief (I'm trying to avoid abbreviating the name to avoid confusion with the other "PT", Porcupine Tree, which I covered in last issue's Different Tunes) seems to have resulted in Soord's desire to do more concise, more mainstream rock songs. Which is not to say that he entirely abandoned all the progressive rock touches. Songs sometimes veer beyond the 4-minute pop-song format, and he often makes judicious use of sampled beats. But overall, Pineapple Thief feels more focused and accessible than its cousin.


Being a fan of Pineapple Thief is like knowing a really amazing secret that you just can't believe more people aren't in on.

Well, "accessible" in the sense of "if you heard it, you'd probably enjoy the experience," though, sadly, the likelihood of such an event occurring are slim, unless you have a really good record store, or you purposefully seek the discs out. Being a fan of Pineapple Thief is like knowing a really amazing secret that you just can't believe more people aren't in on. Any of a number of the songs would comfortably fit on just about any "alternative rock" radio station, and all the albums are eminently listenable, with rarely a clunker in the bunch. But along with the frustration inherent in being a fan (having to scrounge for copies of releases, the puzzled looks on people's faces when you mention the group) comes the pride of knowing you're in on the beginnings of a group with the potential to be truly great.

Pineapple Thief (the name springs from a line of dialogue in the film Eve's Bayou) has much in common with the other "PT" besides just the initials. Both are British "bands" initially consisting of one talented multi-instrumentalist. Both sprang from another somewhat successful group, which were quickly eclipsed in popularity. And both later added a complement of musicians for the sake of touring and recording as a real "band." And, in fact, I first discovered Pineapple Thief because more than one website linked the groups' styles favorably.

pt1.jpg
Abducting the Unicorn (2000)

Since there are only a handful of releases to date, it's not hard to complete the collection, though not without a few pitfalls. Like Porcupine Tree, Soord is frustratingly a fan of "limited edition" releases, and, even more maddening, even "regular" releases have a tendency to disappear as well. Such is the case with the first album, Abducting the Unicorn (originally titled Abducted at Birth, which makes more sense given the infants on the artwork, until the record company requested the title be changed to provide a stronger link to Soord's other group), which, at press time, is out of print and available only in extremely limited quantities from the band's website. This is a tremendous loss, as the album is remarkably solid and listenable.

There is a strong Smashing Pumpkins influence on Abducting, which is very much apparent from Soord's Billy Corgan-like vocal stylings. Myself, I have always found Corgan's voice to be like sandpaper on my brain, but somehow I can tolerate Soord's gravelly tendencies, perhaps because the songs are well constructed and interesting. The album opens strong with "Private Paradise", and never really lets up from there. Highlights include the eerie "No One Leaves the Earth", which reminded me of Porcupine Tree's "Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth" (although it predates that song by a year or so), "Everyone Must Perish", and the untitled and unlisted concluding track.

pt2.jpg
137 (2002)

Fortunately, Soord had abandoned the Corgan vocals by the band's second release, 137, which many consider to be the group's masterwork, and it's hard to argue. There's nary a weak song in the bunch. It's one of those albums that is so consistent and filler-free that I, for one, have never bothered to learn track names. The comparison to Porcupine Tree's poppy (by their standards) Stupid Dream is apt, but there are also touches of Radiohead's bleak sonic manipulation, and even U2's later dance rhythm-infused experiments. The album runs the gamut from smooth balladry ("Release the Tether") to Mars Volta-esque grinds ("137").

Soord manages some really brilliant production, engineering, and arrangement, too. We get lush strings, flute solos, dance breaks, layered vocals... It's quite an achievement given what must have been limited resources. If you're looking for a place to start, this is it.

137 garnered Soord a good deal of attention from record labels sniffing around for the Next Big Thing. By his accounts, he quickly got caught up in the music industry machine, and produced a handful of more radio-friendly tracks before disaster struck: a close friend died suddenly at a young age. As Soord himself recalls, "Even though people were knocking on doors promising riches, the only thing that mattered to me were the 'real' things. I know this sounds trite, but all of a sudden I realized what was important. Making music is paramount regardless of material wealth or fame. If anything positive came from his death, my friend stopped me from losing focus and losing myself like so many other emerging acts."

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Variations on a Dream (2003)

His renewed focus resulted in last year's Variations on a Dream, a somber but by no means lifeless album that is both darker and richer than anything that had come before, perhaps a result of Bruce's decision to bring in true bandmates to fill things out. A little of the experimentation has been toned down--this album is more consistent in tone than the previous two--but not without its flourishes. Beats and effects filter in and out, and there are even more long-form songs than usual. Particularly brilliant is the 8 and a half-minute "Vapour Trails", which has spare, intense instrumental breaks between breathy choruses.

Unlike either of the previous albums, Variations feels like a journey more than just a collection of songs. There is progression and flow to the affair, and while it's not as tightly structured as, say, Quadrophenia with its themes and recombined melodies, it definitely feels as though a change in the order would result in a dramatically different experience. The album culminates in the epic 16-minute track, "Remember Us", which has some gorgeous acoustic guitar work followed by, of all things, a slightly Supertramp-like keyboard section. From there, everything builds to a climax and then eases back again, before breaking into feedback and starting the process over. It's impressively "Echoes"-like.

However, like many albums where the specter of death looms, this can be an exhausting (though cathartic) experience, which means Variations doesn't make it into my CD player as often as other albums of this caliber do. Fortunately, there exists a companion disc, Eight Days, which was released as a companion piece with the first 1000 copies of Variations. The label wanted a promotional tie-in, so Bruce came up with the idea of recording an album in, you guessed it, eight days, and the results are surprisingly solid. In fact, it happens to be my most frequently listened-to Pineapple Thief album. With Variations, Soord has finally "come of age" as a songwriter, performer and producer, and while those skills shine on that album, it is also in full force on the bonus disc. The results are sometimes rough (particularly the lyrics), but always listenable and sometimes downright infectious. Sadly, the quantities are disgustingly scarce for a work that ranks among the band's best.

(Speaking of scarce, Soord also released a limited edition live album through the website featuring the band's first live performances and a few rarities. Once again, this seems to have sold out. Sorry, would-be fans! Maybe these will both see the light of day again when the band gets huge...)

Still need more incentive to check these guys out? Well, Bruce himself is fairly active on the Pineapple Thief Yahoo!Groups mailing list (called "Private Paradise" after the first track on the first album). Drop by and pester him to re-release Eight Days! Imagine being able to tell people you had the chance to hang out with a young Roger Waters back when he was just a lad! You could have been one of those voices on Dark Side! Well, now's your chance to get in while the getting's good. Pineapple Thief is a group due for wider attention. With a new release due later this year, here's your chance to get in on the ground floor.

Pink Floyd fans, particularly those of the "glory years" of the mid- to late-70s (with an open mind to new musical styles), would be wise to seek them out right away. Tell Bruce Spare Bricks sent you.

(By the way, a good place to find these albums is Greg Walker's World of Progressive Rock.)

Patrick Keller is a staff writer for Spare Bricks.


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