Porcupine Tree give new meaning to the term "cult band." The British group have been recording in some form since 1988; I count seven studio albums amid a fistful of vinyl-and-cassette-only releases, EPs, live discs, maxi-singles, and other specialty items. Yet you’re not likely to find them listed in resources like the Spin Alternative Record Guide or any of the Trouser Press or Rolling Stone encyclopædias.

Led from the outset by founding singer/guitarist Steve Wilson, the band do seem to have found a following in Europe: fan pages from Poland, France, Italy, and Greece pop up on the Web. But In Absentia is only their second American release. The disc offers a potent mix of Zeppelin guitar riffs ("Blackest Eyes") polished to Tom Scholz clarity, ambient synth sounds, and sweeping melodies. There are cosmic echoes of the Floydest Pink in "The Sound of Muzik," a potential single with a gorgeous chorus that could have you singing along to lines like "One of the wonders of the world is going down." "Gravity Eyelids" is a rock suite (Think CSN’s "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" covered by Peter Gabriel–era Genesis) that offers a similar blend of grace and power. Occasionally there’s too much Styx and not enough Stones, and "Strip the Soul" is as dark as the darkest Depeche Mode. But you’ve got to love the profound knowledge and sharp wit in a title like "The Creator Has a Mastertape," where God leaves his perfect score in a taxicab.

(Porcupine Tree headline the Paradise next Sunday, November 3. Call 617-423-NEXT.)