Far and Wide

Bruce Soord, leader of the English prog rockers The Pineapple Thief, expresses his uneasiness over the current state of things right away on his band’s 16th album: “They’re coming after everything we’ve ever known to be/Right in front of your eyes,” he gently warns on <b>“New World Order”</b>, his lilt clashing with the chugging groove behind him in a way that heightens the agitation. <i>Far and Wide</i> channels its world-weariness into heady rock explorations—the guitar solos on the shape-shifting <b>“Scattering Like Flies”</b> make the lyrics’ “panic in the air” audible, while <b>“God Knows”</b> has the relentless nature of the most intrusive thoughts. But the album’s more restrained moments also reveal The Pineapple Thief’s rage, with the ballad <b>“Still Living”</b> channelling its defiance into vocal harmonising and the closing track <b>“No Exceptions”</b>, in which Soord marvels at being able to “live another night” amidst chaos and disorder.