"Of the New Day" | ||||
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Single by Porcupine Tree | ||||
from the album Closure/Continuation | ||||
Released | 8 March 2022 | |||
Recorded | 2011–September 2021 | |||
Length | 4:43 | |||
Label | Music for Nations | |||
Songwriter(s) | Steven Wilson | |||
Producer(s) |
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Porcupine Tree singles chronology | ||||
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"Of the New Day" is a song by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released on 8 March 2022 as the second single in promotion of the band's eleventh studio album Closure/Continuation . The track was released alongside a music video. [1] [2] [3] [4]
According to front-man Steven Wilson, "Of the New Day is a song of rebirth, emerging from the darkness", further elaborating by stating how It sounds deceptively simple, a recognisably atypical Porcupine Tree ballad. That is until you realise that the length of the bars is constantly changing, flipping between bars of regular 4
4 time to 3
4, to 5
4 to 6
4, 11
4, so that the track never settles into any steady time." [5] [1]
Wilson also noted how the track is something the band could do very well, stating how the band could come up with "a basic idea that’s almost intellectual or mathematical". [5] [6]
In a review of Closure/Continuation, David Rodriguez of Everything is Noise enjoyed the track, calling it a calm, ballad-esque track. They had also noted the gimmick of constantly changing time signatures, saying it's fitting given the topic of change, evolution, and rebirth. [7] Another review of the record by Thom Jurek of AllMusic enjoyed the track, stating that the track asserted itself as a "spacious ballad" that spirals into "angular prog", "blurring time signatures", and harmonics before "returning to the lithe, keyboard-centric melody". [8]
Emma Johnston of Classic Rock described the track as a "psychedelic swirl" that gives way to the next track, "Rat's Return". [9] Another positive review of the track by Steview Chuck of The Guardian noted that "despite the budding sophistication of his solo work, the Wilson of Porcupine Tree remains a better musician than lyricist, but there’s a sense of chiaroscuro at play within the sensitive chord changes of Of the New Day that assures us he is no mere technical genius, and that a heart beats beneath Closure/Continuation’s flash and flair." [10]
Brad Sanders of Pitchfork described the track as a strangely paranoid sounding ballad in a similar-vein to earlier tracks such as "Lazarus" and "My Ashes". [11] Brice Ezell of PopMatters praised the track. They called the track a gorgeous tune that justifies the band's reunion on its own, also interpreting the track's lyrics as about the "now tenuous time for Porcupine Tree". [12]
Personnel per album liner notes [13] Porcupine Tree
Production
Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became an influence for new artists. The group carved out a career at a certain distance away from mainstream music, being described by publications such as Classic Rock and PopMatters as "the most important band you'd never heard of".
Steven John Wilson is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosion and No-Man. He is also a solo artist, having released seven solo albums since his solo debut Insurgentes in 2008. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Wilson has made music prolifically and earned critical acclaim. His honours include six nominations for Grammy Awards: twice with Porcupine Tree, once with his collaborative band Storm Corrosion and three times as a solo artist. In 2017, The Daily Telegraph described him as "a resolutely independent artist" and "probably the most successful British artist you've never heard of".
Blackwater Park is the fifth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on March 12, 2001, in Europe and a day later in North America through Music for Nations and Koch Records. The album marks the first collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and the band, as Wilson had been brought in to produce the album. This contributed to a shift in Opeth's musical style. The songs "The Drapery Falls" and "Still Day Beneath the Sun" were released as singles.
In Absentia is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the first to move into a more progressive metal direction, contrary to past albums' psychedelic and alternative rock sounds. Additionally, it was their first release on a major record label, Lava Records. It was very well received critically and commercially, with it often being considered the band's crowning achievement, and selling three times as many copies as any of the band's earlier albums.
Lightbulb Sun is the sixth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 2000, and later reissued in 2008 on CD, DVD-A surround sound, and vinyl.
Blackfield is a collaborative music project by the English musician and founder of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, and Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen. Together, six albums have been released under the moniker. The first two records, Blackfield and Blackfield II, saw Geffen and Wilson working together as equal partners, while the third and fourth, Welcome to my DNA and Blackfield IV, saw Geffen take on a leading role, writing all but one track across both albums and providing a significantly increased share of lead vocals. Despite initially announcing his intention to leave the project in 2014, Wilson instead worked again as an equal partner on a fifth album, Blackfield V, which was released on 10 February 2017. A sixth record, For the Music, was released on 4 December 2020, with Geffen again taking a leading role.
Fear of a Blank Planet is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and their best selling before 2009's The Incident. It was released on 16 April 2007 in the UK and the rest of Europe by Roadrunner, 24 April 2007 in the United States by Atlantic, 25 April 2007 in Japan by WHD, and 1 May 2007 in Canada by WEA. Steven Wilson has mentioned that the album's title is a direct reference to the 1990 Public Enemy album Fear of a Black Planet; while the former tackled race issues, the latter is about the fear of losing the current generation of youth to various common threats to their mental and social wellbeing, including broken homes, excessive "screen time", and narcotic overuse to the point of mental and spiritual "blankness".
The following is a listing of officially released works by the English band Porcupine Tree. The band has released eleven major studio albums and 7 EPs, as well as many limited editions and revamped material.
"Fear of a Blank Planet" is a Porcupine Tree song released in 2007. It appears as the first track on the album of the same name.
Nil Recurring is an EP by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released on 17 September 2007 through the band's online store. The standard version of the mini-album is composed of four tracks written during the Fear of a Blank Planet recording sessions and was completed over the summer of 2007. The EP's title, which stems from the opening instrumental track on the EP, was actually derived from an unreleased demo written during the Fear of a Blank Planet recording sessions, called "Always Recurring". Although the band never formally released the song, lyrical and melodic elements of the track were reused in the closing piece of the EP, "What Happens Now?".
The Incident is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was released as a double album on 14 September 2009 by Roadrunner Records. The record was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album and reached the Top 25 on both the US and UK album charts. It was the final release to feature Colin Edwin on bass as well as the last one from the band before an extended hiatus that lasted until 2021.
Storm Corrosion was a musical collaboration between Swedish musician Mikael Åkerfeldt of progressive metal band Opeth and English musician Steven Wilson of the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. Åkerfeldt and Wilson began a longstanding musical partnership in 2001 when Wilson produced Opeth's fifth studio album Blackwater Park. The two began writing together for a new project in 2010, releasing their self-titled only studio album in 2012 through Roadrunner Records.
The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) is the third solo album by British musician Steven Wilson, released by Kscope Music Records on 25 February 2013. Each track on the album is based on a story of the supernatural. Alan Parsons, who had previously been involved in the creation of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was responsible for engineering the album.
Blackfield IV is the fourth studio album by Blackfield, the musical collaboration by Aviv Geffen and Steven Wilson. Similar to their third album, Welcome to My DNA, Geffen has taken over more active duties on the album while Wilson focuses on his solo career. The album was released on 26 August 2013.
"Pariah" is a song by British-progressive rock musician Steven Wilson, it was first released on 9 May 2017 as the first single in promotion of his fifth studio album To the Bone. The track is one of six songs to feature singer Ninet Tayeb on vocals, with the track having the two alternating lead vocals throughout. A music video was released in promotion of the single on 18 May 2017.
Closure/Continuation is the eleventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It is their first since 2009's The Incident. Despite public uncertainty of the band's future after frontman Steven Wilson's focus on a solo career in 2010, the album was recorded intermittently in complete secrecy among Wilson, Gavin Harrison, and Richard Barbieri across the course of the following decade, without longtime bassist Colin Edwin. With the COVID-19 pandemic putting members' separate plans on hold, the band found time to finish the record in September 2021. Towards the end of the year, the band's reformation was announced, alongside the album's release date of 24 June 2022. Four singles were released ahead of the record—"Harridan", "Of the New Day", "Herd Culling", and "Rats Return".
"Harridan" is a song by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 1 November 2021 as the lead single for the bands eleventh studio album Closure/Continuation. Upon release, it became the first new music by the band in nearly 12 years, with the last album being released in 2009. Several critics called the track a fitting comeback for the band after their long hiatus.
Closure/Continuation.Live.Amsterdam 07/11/22 is a live album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 8 December 2023. The record is the second major release since the band's return in 2021. It features the band's concert to a sold out crowd at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 7 November 2022. The set list of the concert features every track from the standard edition of the band's most recent studio album Closure/Continuation. Alongside the album, a concert film documenting the performance, was also released.
Herd Culling is a song by progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 20 May 2022 as the third single in promotion of the bands eleventh studio album Closure/Continuation. The track was released alongside a visualizer and later, on 1 September 2022 a music video.
"Rats Return" is a song by British-progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, it was first released on 17 June 2022 as the fourth and final single in promotion of the bands ninth studio album Closure/Continuation. It was released alongside a music video.