The phrase “growing up in public” is an ever more appropriate description of many acts’ career arcs in the 21st century, as they are snapped up by management after only a few gigs, signed and hyped before even releasing their debut single, with little room to develop away from the spotlight.
The result can often be short-lived, firework careers, so The Pineapple Thief were perhaps fortunate to avoid that fate after Bruce Soord adopted the name in 1999. By then he was already in his late 20s and, as he explains on the illuminating book of sleeve notes housing this retrospective, he had also released a couple of albums on prog-loving indie label Cyclops as Vulgar Unicorn, with school friend Neil Randall. As Soord and Randall diverged creatively, TPT was born, and collected here are the first five albums he made on Cyclops before signing with Kscope, on fan Steven Wilson’s recommendation.
