My copy of the new Porcupine Tree CD, We Lost the Skyline, arrived yesterday. It’s a half-hour live in-store appearance by Steven Wilson (joined part-way through by touring member John Wesley), resulting in a very intimate recording of some Porcupine Tree classics.

The most haunting has to be the very short excerpt of “The Sky Moves Sideways” (which opens the set). Shimmering chords by Wilson accentuate his psychedelic lyrics, stripping back what was once an epic track running over 30 minutes to its barest essence, and it’s from here that the title of the CD is derived.

But it’s “Normal” where things get really interesting. After a nice little anecdote about Robert Fripp’s advice to him regarding rehearsal, Wilson is joined by Wesley for vocal counterpoint on what even Wilson admits is a very difficult track to play. The result, however, is very rewarding indeed.

This is really a release for fans and collectors more than anyone else, but those of us already enamoured with Porcupine Tree will find many revelations in this short but very special recording.