What To Listen To With Lots of Time On Your Hands

I listen to a lot of music. Always have. These days, with a stay home, stay safe proclamation in place here in the great State of Washington, I'm listening to even more music than normal...and I will admit that my normal is not even close to normal for most people. This has been a true joy for me, but a huge frustration for my family who are all sequestered at home along with me...especially my wife and better half who has come to refer to herself as a headphone widow. Sorry Annie.

The thing is, time affords me the opportunity to dive down deep into musical rabbit holes. And my latest dive has been into the rabbit's hole of prog rock, it's many sub-genres, and the seemingly endless number of outstanding epic and complex albums that can be experienced. Triggering this dive was the newly remastered, re-release of Porcupine Tree's 2002 outstanding album In Absentia.

If you find that you too have lots of time on your hands...and I mean lots of time, I invite you to sit and listen....closely....to a few albums that I have been spending quite a bit of time with lately. These albums are long and complex. They are like onions that get pealed back, layer by layer, over multiple listens. It's a commitment for sure, but in doing so, you will get rewarded by these remarkable albums.

Porcupine Tree, In Absentia

"Since their debut in the early '90s, Porcupine Tree have never ceased to impress fans and critics alike. In Absentia is the band at their pinnacle. Its good to know that there are still bands out there that have their own distinctive sound. In some ways, Porcupine Tree are rocks best kept little secret. It's hard to imagine that a band this talented and creative, are still virtually unknown by other than those in their fanbase. In Absentia is a fusion of heavy metal, brit rock, and progressive. It is quite possibly their most accessible album. A great place to start for new fans." Ultimate Guitar

   

Supertramp, Crime Of The Century

A landmark recording and the band’s best album, “Crime of the Century was the album where it all came together for Supertramp, as they composed scores of tracks in order to find the best eight to make this record. Along the way, the group forged a non-traditional and unique sound which falls somewhere along the twisted road between progressive rock and pop music. Produced by Ken Scott, the album is also a sonic masterpiece with incredible dynamics.” Classic Rock Review

   

Genesis, Selling England By The Pound

Ranked at close to the top of every 'best of' prog rock albums list is Selling England By The Pound. On it's best of list (#2, sandwiched between King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King and Yes' Close to the Edge, with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at #4), Pop Matters wrote; "Selling England by the Pound is the most satisfying and fully realized Genesis recording, a period piece that recalls the past while being utterly of its time……It's elaborate but controlled, far-ranging but focused, and it achieves a unity -- in words, sound and especially feeling -- that necessarily ranks it as a high water mark of prog rock."

   

Marillion, Marbles

Album number 13 and one of the band's best. "With the exception of Radiohead and perhaps a few other bands of a lower quality reputation, there are not many artists who have the confidence or sheer talent to record a concept album in the artificial state of contemporary popular music – another prominent exception is Marillion. The cult prog-rock band have excelled themselves with Marbles; a superlative album largely made of atmospheric emotional pop reminiscent of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis and early Pink Floyd....Marbles is a stunning collection of finely crafted songs with heartfelt lyrics that are very eccentric but stirring and often wonderful. Marillion should be hailed a national treasure." Music OMH

   

Airbag, Disconnected

Airbag’s Disconnected is filled with widescreen longing, built on the bones of Floydian atmospheres and emotional gravity. It’s an album that deals in space, not just in its sonic breadth, but in its thematic core disconnection as a modern malaise. Each track unfolds with patience, pulling you deeper into its clean guitar tones, crystalline synths, and the soft ache of Asle Tostrup’s voice. This is music for late nights, headphones, and thoughts too big to say out loud.

   

The Dear Hunter, Act V: Hymns With The Devil In Confessional

With Act V, The Dear Hunter brings its rock opera saga to a dramatic apex, folding orchestration, progressive rock, and musical theater into a seamless, immersive whole. It’s rich with callbacks and motifs, but never collapses under its own ambition. Casey Crescenzo remains a master narrator, shifting between grandeur and intimacy with a theatrical flair that never feels forced. There's tragedy here, but also transcendence. Even if you're not fluent in the story’s timeline, the emotional current is unmistakable sweeping, passionate, and beautifully composed.