QUIETLY URGENT

Decked out in silver platform boots and a feather boa, Brian Eno first rose to prominence as a member of art rockers Roxy Music, appearing on their first two albums. Yet he is probably best known as a producer and for his solo work, particularly in the ambient genre. In fact, Eno is often credited with coining the term "ambient music" with the release of Ambient 1: Music for Airports in 1978. This album, along with subsequent releases in the ambient series, established the genre's defining characteristics, including the use of textures, soundscapes, and atmospheric elements to conjure a specific mood or feel.

In addition to his ambient explorations Eno has produced many vocal albums over the years, beginning with Here Come The Warm Jets in 1973. These all demonstrate his quest for a unique sonic environment, not to mention a desire to manipulate standard rock tropes while remaining within the limitations of his vocal abilities. Eno has also collaborated with a number of significant musicians, including Robert Fripp (King Crimson), David Byrne (Talking Heads), and German innovators Cluster.

Eno’s 2022 album, ForeverAndEverNoMore is a merging of the two major streams of the artist’s creative journey. It is a vocal album; eight of the ten tracks feature Eno’s voice, with the addition of his daughter Darla and niece Cecily on a couple of songs. It is an ambient album; much of the music so subtle and drifting it takes attention to notice the melodic threads which are, so gossamer thin they float away on a breath. It is an electronica album; electronic arcs bridge the sound stage while synthesised bass jumps forward intermittently. Calling this another Eno vocal album would be misleading. Voice is one  evocative texture in the general ambient flow. And when one reads the lyrics, other currents emerge.

The words, delivered in a deeper register these days, demonstrate an awareness of the planet and its climatic travails, inviting contemplation while never straying into environmental zealotry. Eno wants us to engage, to feel, but not necessarily to march on city hall brandishing flaming torches. Things are hot enough already.

Opening track "Who gives a thought" sets the scene both lyrically and musically. A water colour indigo wash, sparse pattering percussion, some subtle electronic sparkles. Eno’s voice is relaxed, reflective. He wonders about fireflies, simple organisms, workers of the world. It is almost a challenge: What are we? What do we value?

The sun, source of all life, features in the next two songs. For "We Let It In" Eno is joined by Darla, whose vocals interweave beautifully with her father’s. Some New Age flavours are given body by the repeated deep bass notes, almost a growl. But the message is positive: let the sunshine in. "Icarus or Blériot" alludes to the Greek myth of the man who would fly to the sun, a poetic and ultimately disastrous ambition, versus the invention and ingenuity of 'modern' man, symbolised by the pioneering French aviator. Who are we? asks Eno.

"Garden of stars" invites us to take a long view of human existence. A billion years and a brief flickering light of life… it is a perspective that gently questions the significance of our inter-tribal spats and meaningless acquisitions; sonically the tension builds like a malfunctioning power station before a necessary reset. Perhaps Eno is reminding us of Joni Mitchell’s 1969 "Woodstock" observation, "we are stardust, billion year old carbon".

Foreverandevernomore finishes with a final extended ambient (mostly) instrumental entitled "Making Gardens Out Of Silence". If the environmental ghost in the machine produced a record, it might sound rather like this. The zeitgeist of the 2020s captured in lyrics and meticulously constructed layers of sound; quiet yet urgent.

© Bruce Jenkins—February 2023