Despite being a very prolific act since their inception in the late 90’s, it has really been on their last few albums where alternative progressive rockers The Pineapple Thief have really found momentum and greater success. A major factor in to this is unquestionably the addition of Gavin Harrison to the fold on drums, an addition that has given the band a massive shot in the arm ever since. This is certainly evident on this new release Give It Back (Snapper Music/Kscope), a collection of songs from earlier in the bands catalogue, reimagined largely by Harrison with mastermind Bruce Soord’s greenlight and re-recorded by the whole band.
Taken across a range of songs from earlier albums in the bands catalogue, including Little Man and Tightly Unwound, the re-recorded versions of such songs unsurprisingly feel more impactful and have an air of greater confidence than their previous incarnation where perhaps the band were finding their feet more. The contemporary version of Little Man’s opening song ‘Dead In The Water’, for example, offers much more life and fluidity in its drum parts throughout (of course possible due to the powerhouse performing of Harrison) and it ultimately feels more modern and in line with the current The Pineapple Thief sound in its guitar oriented aspects whilst retaining the explorative and delicate nature elsewhere.
Interestingly, there are reworked versions from 2012’s All The Wars and, whilst this precedes Harrison’s joining the band, it is also considered a seminal album in their catalogue and so it is surprising at how even these songs feel bolstered. Whilst these entries don’t have quite the stark improvement in production as say those from Little Man, it is still evident in these that The Pineapple Thief of today is a more confident and tight unit. ‘Build A World’ is a prime example where its evolution is more subtle than elsewhere on this album, such as the replacement of piano notes initiating the song with what sounds like xylophone notes that sound more clean.
The collection of songs on display offer a wide palette within the bands sound, covering more upbeat, rock-akin songs such as lead single of this collection ‘Give It Back’ to the more contemplative ‘Boxing Day’ and near ballad likes of ‘Start Your Descent’.
What is clear from this collection and how all of these aspects seem improved shows how far this band has come from those early, experimental days. Their early catalogue has a wealth which didn’t hit the heady heights of latter albums, but by reimagining these songs the band have shown how much a tighter entity they are, whilst still showing that brave, explorative quality in their song writing, which therefore elevates this collection as so much more than just one for completionist fans.
Buy the album here: https://tpt.lnk.to/GiveItBack
8 / 10
CHRIS TIPPELL