The Pineapple Thief - Magnolia 2CD (2014)

Magnolia is the tenth studio album from prog rockers The Pineapple Thief, although it marks a departure from the band’s usual style. As founder Bruce Soord explained, “there are no long tunes… all I care about now is writing a good song. I don’t think about whether it’s rock or progressive or commercial or anything like that. As time went on, I discovered I could say everything I wanted to say within a shorter period of time.” The result is a more direct approach to songwriting, contributing to an instantly more accessible album.

The album starts with ‘Simple as That’, a slow burner with some impressive vocals, building to a heavier section that sounds like a Biffy Clyro track sung by Matt Bellamy (The Pineapple Thief, Biffy and Muse all had distinct cover art designed by the late Storm Thorgerson, too). It’s captivating and only just passes four minutes, demonstrating the band’s more concise approach to songwriting. The songs across the album are sprawling and hypnotic, drawing you in as good progressive rock music should. They go through different movements and sections, building toward consistently impressive climaxes. This is all boosted by the production, handled by bandleader Soord and mixed by Adam Noble, who has previously worked with Placebo, Paul McCartney, Deaf Havana and many more. There are also some stunning string arranements from Andrew Skeet, which really help transform a track like ‘Season’s Past’ into a beautiful album highlight.

The band are at their best when they have prog elements working together with the songs, as is the case with the odd timing of ‘The One You Left To Die’. Progressive music is at its worst when tricks like that bring attention to themselves and become the song, rather than serve as a part of it, and Magnolia manages never to fall into that trap. Something else The Pineapple Thief excel at are the straight up heavy moments in their songs, demonstrated in ‘Breathe’ and ‘Sense of Fear’, two hard hitters at the tail end of the album, separated by the sparse and atmospheric ‘From Me’. With the tracks that follow, Magnolia really comes to life at the end.

Despite the shorter songs, the album still feels long, like an event, like something it might take a little patience to listen to from front to back. It could be the kind of album that you can dip in and out of, or it could be the kind of album you sit down and dedicate some time to. Most albums beg you to do one or the other, but The Pineapple Thief have created something here that doesn’t demand anything. Whether you listen to one track or all twelve, each one of them has the power to grab you, to take you on a journey. And there’s not many albums you could say that for.

TRACKLIST

CD1
1. Simple As That ( 04:04 )
2. Alone At Sea ( 05:20 )
3. Don't Tell Me ( 03:33 )
4. Magnolia ( 03:47 )
5. Seasons Past ( 04:13 )
6. Coming Home ( 03:07 )
7. The One You Left To Die ( 04:21 )
8. Breathe ( 02:51 )
9. From Me ( 02:34 )
10. Sense Of Fear ( 04:30 )
11. A Loneliness ( 03:18 )
12. Bond ( 04:29 )

CD2
1. The Fins Fan Me ( 03:57 )
2. The One You Left To Die ( Acoustic ) ( 04:18 )
3. Seasons Past ( Acoustic ) ( 04:18 )
4. Don't Tell Me ( Acoustic ) ( 02:58 )
5. Magnolia ( Acoustic ) ( 03:47 )
6. Steal This Life ( 04:06 )