Someone Here Is Missing

It doesn't take long to realize that the Pineapple Thief surely must have studied their Radiohead albums prior to writing/recording their 2010 album, Someone Here Is Missing. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Pineapple Thief singer/guitarist Bruce Soord has his Thom Yorke-isms down pat -- as evidenced by his vocal delivery throughout the album, but especially on such tracks as "Wake Up the Dead" and "Barely Breathing." Like another thriving U.K.-based band of the early 21st century, Porcupine Tree, the Pineapple Thief are often referred to as a "prog band" in the press, but modern-day prog is an entirely different beast than when the phrase was uttered in the 1970s. More often than not, prog of today has more in common with heavy metal (crunchy guitar detours) and vintage new wave (synthesizer flourishes) than album-length suites and mystical tales of fantasy lands -- in fact, both aforementioned styles can be detected on the album opener, "Nothing at Best." And it turns out that the only thing that the Pineapple Thief really have in common with old-school proggers is hiring renowned album cover designer Storm Thorgerson (best known for designing Pink Floyd's iconic Dark Side of the Moon cover) to put together the artsy-fartsy cover image for Someone Here Is Missing. There are certainly some interesting moments on Someone Here Is Missing, and there's no denying that the group can create some pretty darn impressive mood swings within a single song. But Soord's reliance on his replication of Yorke-warbling weighs a bit too heavy on the proceedings. ~ Greg Prato