I still see the trio of Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun, and In Absentia as their peak. Signify is also up there, since it takes their earlier, Pink Floyd material and makes it their own instead of a direct copy. As for Deadwing, besides Shallow and Lazarus, I wasn't really bothered by the more commercial direction. However, I found the album to be a terrible bore. The songs have some interesting sounds, but taken as a whole, I don't think any of them offer much besides sleep. It's a decent album, but I expect far more from Porcupine Tree, and Deadwing just can't live up to my expectations. However, with Fear of a Blank Planet, I think that they truly discovered how to bring together elements from their entire history into a very entertaining whole and a fresh whole.
