A band at a crossroads: why ‘Far And Wide’ matters
The Pineapple Thief’s new album Far And Wide is a progressive art-rock release built from stricter studio constraints, more immediate collaboration between Bruce Soord and Gavin Harrison, and a sharpened focus on songs that translate powerfully to the stage. This is not just their next record; it is a deliberate reset for a band hitting its 25th anniversary and its 15th studio album. When a group has this much history, the real risk is creative drift—adding layers, parts and polish until the core of the music blurs. Far And Wide pushes in the opposite direction. Soord’s decision to strip back guitar parts and vocal harmonies in the studio is a statement about identity: The Pineapple Thief want to sound like the five-piece that walks on stage, not an overproduced studio mirage.
Constraints, not excess: Bruce Soord’s new creative process
Far And Wide grew from Bruce Soord questioning his own habits in the studio. He describes realising that The Pineapple Thief did not “need more than two guitar parts at any one time” and asking why they were stacking “four or five guitars” and “six-part harmonies when there's only three of us singing.” That moment of doubt is healthy. Progressive rock collaboration often drifts toward maximalism; Soord is pushing back, arguing that a rock band’s recorded sound should match the five players the audience sees on stage. This change also reflects how he has moved away from working alone. Previously, he could send ideas around and “faff around” with revisions on his own schedule, a process that bred both freedom and complacency. By inviting more immediate input—and letting constraints shape arrangements—Soord is swapping solitary perfectionism for something leaner, riskier and more honest.
Gavin Harrison’s co-lead role and the live-first mindset
The turning point for The Pineapple Thief’s sound came when Bruce Soord and Gavin Harrison began writing together, in the same room, at Harrison’s home studio instead of exchanging files online. Harrison describes previous work as an “internet love affair,” with ideas bouncing back and forth over days; now, he can play something and get feedback “in the second.” That immediacy has consequences. Harrison openly shapes the songs by imagining how they will feel live—thinking, for example, “this would be amazing live… if this section just went into this other thing,” picturing lights and atmosphere as part of the composition itself. In practice, the drummer has become a co-leader in the creative process, steering structure and dynamics rather than just adding parts. It’s a modern model of progressive rock collaboration: one harmonic writer and one rhythmic architect, building pieces that are designed to survive outside the studio.
From ‘It Leads To This’ to ‘Far And Wide’: a broader reset
Far And Wide follows It Leads To This, a record that already marked a shift in how Bruce Soord and Gavin Harrison approached writing. That album emerged from their first serious attempts to compose while sharing the same space, rather than relying on remote file-trading. Soord admits that when each member has a private studio, it is a “double-edged sword” that can make a band “a bit lazy,” with coffee breaks too readily replacing hard decisions. Working together forced the pair to confront ideas in real time and chase songs to completion instead of tinkering indefinitely. At the same time, bassist Jon Sykes and Soord recognise the pros and cons: remote writing can produce a different kind of organic progress, where the “communication is through files” and the music evolves quietly. Far And Wide feels like the culmination of those lessons—combining remote freedom with in-person intensity.
What ‘New World Order’ and the tour promise for fans
The Pineapple Thief new album Far And Wide arrives on October 9 via InsideOutMusic, carrying nine tracks from opening cut New World Order to closer No Exceptions. New World Order is a clear statement of intent, fusing the band’s atmospheric prog-rock sound with a heavier edge that swings between quiet, introspective passages and explosive bursts. It is the audible result of Soord’s tighter arrangements and Harrison’s live-focused thinking. According to the band’s announcement, Far And Wide will be supported by a North American tour in November and December, with dates spanning major cities from Washington to Vancouver. For fans, the practical impact is simple: this creative reset will be stress-tested on stage. Tickets are already on sale, and the shows will reveal whether the constraints and collaboration that shaped the record can produce a more powerful, human-scale performance in real time.
