What a thing a career is. On Brian Eno’s 22nd solo studio album, the English composer-producer has delivered 10 ambient songs focused on the climate catastrophe. It is a slow and thoughtful treatise on the end of the world, that offers meditative sunrays through the doomy clouds, possibly intended for the species, be it flora or fauna, that remain once humans have done themselves in.
It’s powerful stuff. There Were Bells is a wistful paean to pastoral living, with signature freeform synths joining slow lyrics, thunder rolls and…could that be a harmonium? “There were bells above, they sang the whole day through” he murmurs. “And the sky revolves from pink to golden blue [...] Let it all unravel in a sea of birds and swans.” It’s really affecting, mournful music that certainly sounds like the end of something.
The album is accompanied by an essay along similar themes, but where Eno muses on the idea of artists as ‘feeling-merchants’. This feels right.
'FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE' is, because of the presence of songs (this is the first Eno album with lyrics for nearly 20 years) more discursive than his pure ambient work. But despite its softness, it is a record that quarrels with itself—is humanity’s destruction a good or bad thing? Is Eno resigned to it? Are you?
At 74, Eno is pretty much peerless in his particular field of ambient music—try to name two other ambient composers—so it’s good to see him still creating different kinds of work and challenging himself. But 'FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE' is not the most interesting album, despite the integrity and the currency of the artist creating it. It’s pretty doomy and bleak, but there are a lot of Baby Boomers out there peddling that worldview.
Interestingly, on the day of this album’s release Roxy Music, the art-rock band he left nearly 50 years ago, played a reunion show at London’s giant O2 Arena. How his body of work might have panned out differently if he’d stayed in the band. What a thing a career is.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
