It's here. At last. It took a good three and a half years for The Pineapple Thief to release a new album after Versions of the Truth. The title of the fresh longplayer: It Leads To This, created between 2020 and 2023, i.e. over the span of those three and a half years. So can we expect more?

In essence: yes. The album takes us into familiar territory in a new guise, you could say. Progressive rock at its finest would also be an option. Or simply: great musical enjoyment? That too. But it's also rockier. Edgier. More metal with the fish.

It Leads To This gets down to business almost without interruption. Although each track also has its lyrical moments, the music as a whole is much more powerful, more full-bodied, more muscular, if you like. "Matured" is how singer and guitarist Bruce Soord describes it in an interview. He composed all the tracks together with drummer Gavin Harrison, which could theoretically be the reason for the different sound, but that was also the case with the predecessor.

At the same time, the tracks are more restless, as Harrison loosens up his drum parts considerably. The classic hi-hat flow is dissolved in favor of a musical interpretation with a significantly higher tom component. The drums not only provide accents, but also accompany the vocal melody in their own way, underpinning it. The guitars are also more biting, as is the bass in some parts.

Acoustically, the eight compositions are top class. The vocals are clearly in the front and acoustically in focus. In the polyphonic passages, the singers are clearly distinguishable - in addition to Soord, bassist Jon Sykes and a second guitarist whose name is consistently avoided in the PR documents. Back to the sound: the drums fan out moderately wide in the background, and the basslines flicker skillfully through the tangle and carry the sound with a mixture of solidity and filigree filling technique.

As already mentioned, it took a total of three years to complete the album. Also, as Soord says, because "it was the most intense time I can remember with The Pineapple Thief. Personally, I was pushed far beyond my known limits, which is great from an artistic point of view, but also a great challenge from a personal point of view."

For the listener, it's not a challenge, but a pleasure. Powerful, but well-balanced (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

The Pineapple Thief