The Pineapple Thief: Hold Our Fire

Whether through the introduction of drummer extraordinaire Gavin Harrison to their ranks, or simply through sheer bloody persistence The Pineapple Thief have slowly pilfered their way into the hearts of prog fans across the globe. Going out in the United States under the banner of The Pineapple Thief featuring Gavin Harrison undoubtedly details the value of having an ex-Porcupine Tree member onboard and yet none of this would mean anything if their music wasn’t able to capture hearts and burrow deep into minds. Released in 2018, the Dissolution album broke down doors and propelled The Pineapple Thief into the prog big leagues, hence that their latest live offering is a straight run through of that rather nifty piece of work minus introductory track “Not Naming Any Names� should be no surprise. Neither is the fact that Hold Our Fire illustrates exactly why the likes of “Try As I Might�, “All That You’ve Got� and “White Mist� work just as well in this setting as they do in the studio.

Bruce Soord is the band’s mainman, so it’s no accident that at first glance everything revolves around his fragile yet bullish vocals and violently loved guitars but dig deeper into the vibrancy of “Far Below� and you’ll find the atmospheres are just as likely to emanate from the at times understated keyboard contributions from Steve Kitch and prowling bass work of Jon Sykes. Live The Pineapple Thief are augmented by a session guitarist and recent years have found that being George Marios, who doesn’t just take up his band leader’s slack. Instead, on stage Soord is often the strumming acoustic scene setter, concentrating on building the scenery from which everything else hangs, including his own impassioned but supremely told stories.

It’s testament to Dissolution that Hold Our Fire doesn’t come across like one of the many compromise-live albums that recent years have thrown out. A new angle often sought in the hope that the routine of releasing an on stage outing after every studio effort isn’t viewed as simply keeping the financial wheels turning. Thankfully here such is the strength of this material that the eight tracks brought together from the same source simply make a scintillating set-list that flows naturally and never allows the intensity to drop, even if there are some fade outs between songs due to them not all being captured on the same evening. That however ensures that the performances are peerless and that the sound quality is nigh on perfect without ever sounding sterile or ‘corrected’.

One non-Dissolution track is allowed to slip through the net, “3000 Days� from Someone Here Is Missing rounding out what is a completely captivating and invigorating experience. On stage The Pineapple Thief are a force of nature not to be trifled with and Hold Our Fire does an excellent job of capturing that experience.

Track Listing
1. Try As I Might
2. Threatening War
3. Uncovering Your Tracks
4. All That You've Got
5. Far Below
6. Not Naming Any Names
7. White Mist
8. Shed A Light
9. 3000 Days

Added: November 10th 2019
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: The Pineapple Thief online
Hits: 1953
Language: english

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