Over the course of 11 previous albums,
The Pineapple Thief have established a body of work that straddles the line between stirring, accessible indie rock and musically adventurous prog. Led by chief songwriter/guitarist/frontman
Bruce Soord,
TPT almost always work conceptually, framing albums in thematically linked compositions that never fall prey to excess or reckless self-indulgence.
Dissolution is the second
TPT album to feature
King Crimson/ex-
Porcupine Tree drummer
Gavin Harrison in a rhythm section that also includes bassist
Jon Sykes and keyboardist
Steve Kitch. While 2016's
Your Wilderness proved a commercial breakthrough thanks to a rigorous touring acumen, here
Soord and company shift gears.
Harrison -- who scripts and arranges all three drummers' parts for
King Crimson -- is now a songwriting and mixing partner. In addition, the bandmembers recorded their individual parts separately in four different locations, staying in touch by phone and file-sharing.
Dissolution doesn't sound isolated, however; in fact, it may be the most organic-sounding studio offering in
TPT's history. As hinted at by its title, this set isn't exactly cheery: it's a meditation about the dark side of social media and hyper-technology; it explores the ways in which they contribute to isolation, alienation, and the disintegration of relationships in the undoing of society's social fabric.