Legendary English rock band Porcupine Tree has released a new song–“Rats Return”–alongside an accompanying music video, the latest of several singles off of their upcoming comeback album Closure/Continuation.
The song itself is mysterious, near-ethereal in tone, “Rats Return” has heavy lyrics that have timely political undertones–in the words of the band’s founder, Steven Wilson: “This song is about those who claim to have the interests of the people at heart, but when it comes down to it there is only ego and self-interest. I find myself reflecting on what sort of person would actually be so driven as to want to rule over a whole nation, and aren’t these people by definition the very last people that should be allowed to do so?”
The music video matches the song beat for beat in that regard; it takes the form of an episode of “The Late Late Late Show with Special Guests (Live)”, a fictional talk show in which a number of mysterious guests – among them an injured ballerina, a military general, and a cosmonaut – put on a bizarre show in which the general forces the ballerina to dance through her injuries, a mad drummer stares down the camera, and a number of distressing visions of the guests in near-psychedelic disarray. Porcupine Tree’s upcoming album is of particular note as the band went on hiatus in 2010 and Wilson himself claimed as recently as 2018 that the band would not be mounting a return. It was not until November of last year – over a decade after they disbanded – that the group finally revealed their intent to mount a comeback with their announcement of “Closure/Continuation”.
You can check out “Rats Return” below, as well as the tracklist for Closure/Continuation and Porcupine Tree’s 2022 tour information. Pre-order Closure/Continuation here.
Tracklist:
1. Harridan
2. Of The New Day
3. Rats Return
4. Dignity
5. Herd Culling
6. Walk The Plank
7. Chimera’s Wreck
BONUS TRACKS:
8. Population Three * †
9. Never Have * †
10. Love In The Past Tense †
* Limited Audiophile Deluxe LP
† Limited Audiophile Deluxe CD
TOUR DATES:
September 2022:
9/10 – Toronto, ON @ Meridian Hall
9/12 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
9/14 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
9/16 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
9/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
9/18 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
9/20 – Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
9/23 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
9/25 – Denver, CO @ Bellco Theatre
9/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
9/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
October 2022:
10/4 Mexico City, MX @ Pepsi Center
10/7 Santiago, CL @ Movistar Arena
10/21 Berlin, DE @ Max Schmelinghalle
10/23 Vienna, AU @ Gasometer
10/24 Milan, IT @ Forum
10/27 Stockholm, SW @ Globe
10/28 Copenhagen, DK @ Falkoner Theatre
10/30 Katowice, PO @ Spodek Hall
November 2022:
11/2 Paris, FR @ Le Zenith
11/4 Stuttgart, DE @ Porsche Arena
11/6 Oberhausen, DE @ KP Arena
11/7 Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggodome
11/9 Zurich, CH @ Halle 622
11/11 London, UK @ SSE Arena, Wembley
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