The Pineapple Thief

THE BAND FROM THE RURAL BACKWOODS OF SOUTH-WEST U.K. WHO TOOK THE PROG-ROCK WORLD BY STORM 

- Gregory Adams

IT’S BEEN DECADES since Bruce Soord was the sole creative force behind veteran prog project the Pineapple Thief, yet the Yeovil, U.K.-based guitarist/vocalist is quick to note that It Leads to This — their 15th full-length — is far and away the most collaborative effort yet. In recent years, Soord would shoot out tracks to a pool of players, who would add ideas piecemeal; this time around, he drove out to drummer Gavin Harrison’s home studio to employ “old-school writing techniques” — i.e. by jamming things out together.

Pineapple Thief’s founder admits, however, that he was caught off-guard when Harrison started their sessions by twitching out the 5/4 shuffle pattern that now drives the record’s “Rubicon” — a rhythmic twist Soord wasn’t sure he’d ever heard before, or even knew how to handle. It took a few moments to get into the groove.